Come Away with Me
by ladycobert
Summary: Cobert Summer Smutfic Exchange: Robert's birthday surprise for Cora doesn't go exactly as planned.
1. I want to walk with you on a cloudy day

Early July, 1921

Cora watched in the dressing table mirror as O'Brien put one last pin in her hair. Dabbing another few drops of perfume behind her ear while her lady's maid gathered up laundry, Cora said, "I wonder what on earth his lordship has planned for us. He's so excited about this surprise, he's been like a little boy at Christmas time." Chuckling, Cora stood in front of the full length mirror to check over her appearance once more, then put on her hat and gloves.

"It's not for me to say, my lady," O'Brien replied with a smile. She'd been taken into Lord Grantham's confidence, as he needed her to help with part of the surprise, but she wasn't about to spoil it for her mistress.

"Well, he's being very secretive about all of it. Where are we off to on this excursion? I don't know!" She laughed. "I suppose the whole thing is tremendously thrilling, though. He knows how much I love surprises." She picked up her handbag and walked toward the door. "Good day, O'Brien."

Once she'd stepped out in the hallway, Cora could hear Robert's voice calling her. Shaking her head, she hurried down the stairs and to the foyer.

"Cor-" Robert stopped mid-shout. "Oh, I'm sorry, darling. There you are." He grinned.

"Why are you shouting across the house, Robert? I could hear you all the way upstairs. It's most unlike you." A crease appeared between her brows.

"No, darling," he said, kissing her cheek lightly. "No frowning today, please. I was simply impatient to get started."

The eagerness in his voice made her chuckle, erasing her frown entirely. "Where are we going, Robert?"

As he led her outside, Carson closing the door behind them, Cora looked at the motor car curiously – or more specifically, the absence of anyone in or around it. "Robert…?" She raised her eyebrows when he opened the back door for her, still grinning from ear to ear. "Where is the driver?"

Cora hadn't thought his smile could get any wider. "Right next to you, helping you in."

An acute feeling of foreboding filled her. She stood and stared at him. "But, Robert… you don't know how to drive!"

"Come along, my dear. Get in, and I'll explain everything on the way."

Allowing him to hand her into the backseat, Cora replied weakly, "On the way where?" He appeared so pleased with himself that she couldn't bear to squelch his enthusiasm, despite her uncertainties. While Robert went around to the front of the car, Cora noticed a bouquet of flowers sitting next to her. She smiled and picked them up, inhaling their fragrance.

Robert slid into the driver's seat. He turned around to peer at her. "Are you comfortable, darling?"

If Cora were honest, she would have to say she wasn't. What made Robert think he could drive? Instead, she said, "Yes, I'm comfortable. The flowers are beautiful; thank you."

"One of many gifts to come," he chuckled, his blue eyes all alight. He pivoted back to the steering wheel and started the engine with relative ease, put the motor into gear and began driving slowly away from the house.

"Robert!" Cora exclaimed in astonishment. She leaned forward to watch him from her perch on the back seat. He seemed almost natural at it. "When did you learn to drive?"

"I wanted to surprise you, Cora! Are you surprised?" Robert flicked his eyes to her in the rearview mirror, but didn't keep them there long. He still felt nervous driving.

Nodding, Cora replied, "Very!"

She sat back in the seat as they made it out onto the open road and fell silent while he poked his tongue out of the corner of his mouth in evident concentration. When the car refused to shift into the next gear, Robert swore under his breath, trying again. Cora clutched at the door when the motor jerked awkwardly, but her husband let out a cry of triumph. They drove along at a speed Tom might consider slow; however, Robert appeared delighted.

Now that he'd cleared the first significant hurdle, Robert relaxed a trifle. "I persuaded Tom and Edith to teach me to drive," he tossed over his shoulder to her, his voice raised above the noise of the motor. "They took it in turns; I think I may have frightened them a few times." Chuckling good-naturedly, he steered the car smoothly onto the right part of a fork in the road. "I've been practicing for a month, Cora. Because I wanted to take you somewhere and have you all to myself. I didn't even want a chauffeur along." He grinned at her in the mirror briefly.

"Robert, where _are_ you taking us?" she asked, for what felt like the tenth time. She'd kept mostly quiet, not wanting to break his focus on the road, and stared at him in fascination as he drove.

Accelerating as he gained more confidence in himself and the road wound into the open country, Robert said, "Do you remember Rosamund telling us of a country cottage she bought and refurbished a few years ago?"

Cora thought a minute. "Yes, I think I do now."

"Well, I had her loan it to us for a few days. She doesn't keep any servants there, although she sometimes hires a local woman to cook for her when she visits the cottage. But there are very few neighbors, and it's a beautiful little out-of-the-way place, Cora. She showed me photographs." Robert smiled while he told her all this.

"And did you hire the cook for our stay?" A feeling of trepidation crept up on her in spite of herself, as she recalled that Robert's plans tended to have either brilliant results – or end in disaster.

Robert shook his head slightly. "No, darling. I had Mrs. Patmore pack away enough for us for several days. Including some very good wines I've been saving for a special occasion." He glanced at her once more in the mirror, his eyes twinkling.

She breathed a silent sigh of relief. At least he'd thought of making sure they'd be fed in the middle of nowhere. "How far away is it?"

"Oh, it'll be several hours until we get there. You sit tight, my love. I'll get us there safe and sound."

A few hours later, Cora woke up in the back seat, her head against the door. Sitting up straighter, she glanced at Robert, who was still determinedly staring ahead, both hands gripping the steering wheel. The she looked out the window, marveling at how green the countryside was. Trees dressed in their summer green stood sentry at various points along the deserted road, and fences on one side of it attempted to keep sheep from straying. In the distance a lone brown barn with a tin roof broke the horizon between deep verdure and azure sky.

"Robert?" Cora rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"Yes, my darling one?" Robert asked, not taking his eyes off the road.

"Are we close to the cottage? I confess that I'm quite hungry."

Chuckling, Robert lifted his eyes to the rearview mirror now to look at her. "I'm sure you are, Cora. I'm getting that way myself. I think we'r—"

"Look out!" Cora pointed to where a sheep was ambling onto the road just ahead of them.

"Bloody hell!" Robert shouted, swerving as he hit the brakes to avoid the animal.

When the car came to a stop in the ditch beside the road, Cora breathed heavily, her heart racing and her hand to her chest. Robert continued to grip the steering wheel in disbelief. Setting the parking brake, he pivoted in his seat and looked at his wife.

"Cora, are you alright?" he asked in an alarmed voice, reaching his arm back toward her.

Nodding, Cora took a deep breath and touched his hand. "Yes, Robert, I'm alright. Are you injured?"

Robert shook his head emphatically. "No, no, I'm fine." Opening the door, he stepped out onto the road. The sheep turned her head and stared at him from the middle of it, unfazed.

"Shoo, you bloody animal," he yelled. It continued to stare. "Get back to your flock!" He approached her cautiously. He was almost upon the sheep before she placidly sauntered to the other side, supremely unfussed by his waving arms.

Going back to the motor, he climbed in and started it again. Driving back onto the road, he became aware of something not quite right.

"Robert?" Cora bounced upon the seat, then bounced again as he accelerated. "Is it supposed to do that?"

Sighing, Robert muttered, "No, Cora. You know very well it's not supposed to do that." Pulling the motor over onto the stretch of grass on the side of the road opposite the ditch, he stopped it again, resetting the brake and getting out. He slammed the door before circumnavigating the vehicle. Coming upon the front left, he passed his hand over his forehead.

Cora opened the door and stepped out. "What is it?"

He pointed. "Flat tire."

"Do – do you know how to fix one of those?" Cora asked, half hopefully and half despairingly.

Robert looked her right in the eye and shook his head. "No."

Closing the door, Cora walked a few feet away from the motor and shaded her eyes from the sun as she slowly rotated in a circle, taking in every bit of scenery.

Except, that's all it was – scenery.

"Robert, there's nothing out here. Are we close enough to Rosamund's cottage to walk there?" Cora thought she knew the answer, though.

Pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, Robert closed his eyes. "No."

"So we're stranded out here?" Her voice rose in both volume and pitch.

He removed his hand from his face and snapped his eyes open. "I wouldn't say stranded, Cora."

"Well, what do you call this? Do you see any dwellings anywhere around here? Have you passed any other vehicles on the road since we left the vicinity of the village? Robert, in case you haven't noticed, we are in the middle of _nowhere_!" Cora gesticulated around her wildly, feeling as if she'd been correct with her earlier foreboding. "If you'd just let the chauffeur take us, none of this would have happened!"

Robert took a deep breath. The last thing he wanted to do was argue with his wife on what was supposed to be a happy occasion. "Cora, someone will come along eventually. In the meantime, everything is fine. We have food, and the weather is beautiful. You said you were hungry. What do you say to a picnic whilst we wait for someone to come along?" He did his best to make his voice portray a calm he didn't necessarily feel.

Cora gaped at him. Instead of arguing with her, he'd decided put a positive spin on it all. She had to admit she was slightly bewildered. Normally he would be the one making a fuss and being argumentative. She blushed in embarrassment now, ashamed. It was only a flat tire, and someone had to come along at some point to help them, right?

Putting a gentle hand on his jacket sleeve, Cora looked up at him with penitent eyes. "I'm sorry, darling. Yes, a picnic sounds lovely."

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, Robert walked around her and to the boot of the motor. Opening it, he hunted around for a moment for the correct basket – Mrs. Patmore having packed a specific one for their first meal, complete with corkscrew for the wine bottle – and a thick blanket. "We'll go just a little from the road, shall we? That way we won't be too close, but we can wave down anyone who might happen by. How does that sound?"

"It sounds perfect, Robert." As he took her by the hand, the blanket tucked under his arm, she rather wished no one would happen by. Not for a while, anyway.

Robert led her to a grassy knoll a little distance from the road, with a surface flat enough upon which they could set up their picnic. Requesting that Cora spread the blanket out, Robert set the basket down and extricated flatware and glasses. He chuckled. "Clearly, Mrs. Patmore doesn't trust that Rosamund has her own stocked china cabinet in this cottage."

Cora shook her head, grinning, as she sat and continued to pull out various food items while Robert, having located the promised corkscrew and the wine, stood and opened the bottle. Carefully, he poured the red liquid into two glasses, handing one to Cora before sitting down across from her with his own.

"You're right, Robert. It is a beautiful day." She held up her wine glass. "What shall we toast to?"

"Your birthday?" he ventured.

She laughed. "That's not until tomorrow, darling."

"Well, then, I toast the day before your birthday, and I toast you." He held up his glass – and held her eyes in his, his expression very loving.

Cora grinned and blushed, lowering her lashes. "I suppose I can drink to that." She touched her glass to his with a soft _clink_ before drinking, not taking her eyes off his now.

Lifting her hand to his lips, he placed a soft kiss upon the back of it. "So, what has Mrs. Patmore given us, my love?"

The pair of them, while keeping an eye out on the road, had a leisurely luncheon of cheese and bread, fruit and wine, and a delicious lemon dessert. They talked and laughed and shared glances and fed one another without worrying that someone might see or care.

The sun disappeared behind some dark clouds that had gathered while they were eating. Robert glanced at his pocket watch as they put their used dishes and what little food they hadn't eaten back into the basket.

"Cora, we've been sitting here nearly three hours, believe it or not." Robert tucked his watch back into his pocket.

"Three hours!" She stared at him, her hand frozen on the basket as she'd been about to close it.

Brushing the backs of his fingers across her cheek, he smiled warmly at her. "Yes. Three hours. I suppose I'm not such bad company after all."

Cora's eyes grew soft. "Oh, darling, of course you aren't bad company. I'm simply wondering about what we're going to do. Not one vehicle has passed on this road." Her soft look transformed into one of worry. "What if no one does?"

Robert gently moved her hand off the basket and shut it, picking it up. "Cora, it'll be fine. I'll put this back in the boot. You stay here."

Watching him make his way down to the motor, Cora became aware of an uncomfortable sensation. "Robert," she called to him as he approached the blanket where she sat. "I think we have another problem."

He stood in front of her and helped her up when she put her hands out to him. He was a bit surprised when she began to whisper in his ear. "Oh, right." He colored slightly. "Erm, well, there is some shrubbery there, Cora. Wouldn't that do?"

"Robert Crawley!" She had the feeling he was laughing at her. "I am the Countess of Grantham and your wife! Are you seriously suggesting that I – erm – use a patch of shrubbery?"

Robert did his best to hide his smile. He spread his arms wide and indicated their surroundings. "I really don't see an alternative, Cora. Do you?"

Cora sighed. "Fine. Will you do me a favor, though?" She sounded tentative.

"What's that?"

"Stand between the shrubbery and the road?"

Robert suppressed the urge to laugh, knowing she was completely serious. "Yes, of course, my darling."

As Cora tried to get the hang of the unwieldy process of using the shrubbery for something she couldn't help but think shrubbery should never be used for, Robert stood there and said to her over his shoulder. "Fancy a walk? I can't see being cramped in the motor while it's still nice out. We can walk toward that barn and see if it's as abandoned as it looks."

"Robert, please stop distracting me."

"Oh, I'm sorry." He grew quiet, humming to himself, his hands behind his back, waiting until she appeared in front of him again.

"Well, that was something I thought I'd never do." She scowled.

Robert chuckled. "Always a first time for everything." When her forehead became more thunderous, and she gave him the look that always terrified the servants, he coughed. "Now, how about that walk?" He held his arm out to her.

With a rather loud "humph," Cora took his arm and allowed him to steer her in the direction of the barn. He picked up the blanket along the way, shaking it out and tucking it under his other arm. The ominous gathering of clouds had not escaped him, and he knew they had no umbrella in the motor. Eyeing the sky above him, he shook his head a little, hoping they wouldn't get caught.

As they meandered through the high grass, Robert squeezed Cora's arm with his. "Darling, I owe you an apology."

Cora tilted her head up at him. "For what?"

Sighing, Robert shook his head again. "For getting us into this mess. You're right; I should have let the chauffeur take us to the cottage."

Stopping beside him, Cora looked up into his face. His mouth drooped, and he appeared so dejected that she felt like her heart might break. "No, Robert. I was upset. You couldn't have known something would go wrong with the motor. You were trying to do something special for my birthday. And I love being alone with you. Goodness knows it doesn't happen often enough." She reached up to touch his cheek. "As you said, darling. It will be fine."

Robert felt his disappointment in himself melt at her touch, and a smile tugged at his mouth as he beheld the tender understanding in her eyes.

"That's better," she said, leaning up to kiss him briefly. "Now. We haven't attained our goal yet, have we?"

With that, they strolled on together through the yellow grass hand in hand as the sky grew darker above them. The wind ruffled their hair, as their hats remained inside the motor, and Cora's skirt flapped against her legs. Robert made teasing comments about this while his wife giggled and slapped him playfully on the arm.

The road far behind them, they continued to close the distance between themselves and the barn. However, they still had a far stretch to cross when they felt raindrops. At first there were only a few, so they simply quickened their pace.

In a few moments the bottom seemed to drop out of the sky.

Robert grasped Cora's hand tighter, and, with a booming laugh, urged her into a run. Drawing up her skirts with her other hand, she followed him as quickly as she could, allowing him to pull her along and blinking her eyes against the deluge that blurred her vision. They arrived at the weather-beaten structure within five minutes, and Robert dropped her hand so he could open the door for her.

Leaving the door ajar to let in what little light there was, Robert took his wife's hand once more as they stepped farther in to survey the interior of the building. The noise of the rain against the tin roof resounded around them, to where they had to speak louder than they normally would.

Cora pointed to the far wall. "Look, Robert; a lantern."

Robert led her over to it. Picking it up, he said, "Yes, it's got oil in, but my matches are bound to be soaked, darling." Then his face cleared, and he grinned. "But I do have the lighter Matthew gave me for Christmas last year. That should work." He gave her the lamp and retrieved the silver lighter from his inside jacket pocket. Still preferring matches for lighting his cigars, Robert carried the lighter with him just in case he ran out. Fumbling through his first few attempts, he got the lighter to work and lit the wick of the lamp, pleased.

Holding the lamp in front of her, Cora inspected their shelter while Robert went over to close the door against the rain. "At least the smell is tolerable," Cora said.

Chuckling, Robert glanced around the dim barn as he tucked the lighter back into his pocket. "And it's dry." Stacked neatly along one long wall, the hay appeared free of mold and gave off a faint, sweet fragrance. Empty horse stalls stood on the opposite end, and tools rested neatly against the wall or up on pegs. "From what I can tell, Cora, this barn is used for storage, but the farmer probably doesn't come up here very often."

"Oh, Robert, how are we supposed to get back home?" She turned anxiously to him, shivering as water fell in great drops off her clothing.

Taking the lantern from her, he set it down carefully on the corner of one of the old horse stalls. He'd remembered something. "Cora, I told Tom that we would telephone from Rosamund's cottage when we got there. When he doesn't hear from us, I'm sure he'll come looking." Pulling the blanket out from under his arm, he draped it on the stall next to the lantern. Robert put his hands on her cheeks and gazed at her in concern. "Darling, your teeth are chattering. We need to get you out of these wet clothes."

Cora's eyes went wide. "You want me disrobe in a stranger's barn in the middle of nowhere?" she asked incredulously, her jaw unable to stop trembling with cold.

Robert nodded seriously, his thumbs stroking her cheek bones. "I do. Because I can't have you getting ill. The blanket I brought is mostly dry still, and I'll wrap you up in that. We can lay your clothes out, so they might dry a bit whilst we wait out the storm."

Shaking her head, Cora backed away from him. "No, I'll be fine."

Sighing, Robert started unbuttoning his jacket. "If it will make you feel better, I'll do the same. I'm beginning to feel a chill myself."

Cora gaped at him in astonishment while he began divesting himself of his garments, arranging them meticulously along the tops of the horse stalls. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she plucked at the buttons on her soggy blouse, with shaky hands.

Having stripped down to his undergarments, Robert made sure his shoes were out of the way before yanking an old horse blanket off a hook. Flicking it a few times away from where his wife stood and deciding it was cleaner than he'd originally thought, he nodded to himself. Going over and laying this out carefully upon the shortest stack of hay, he came back to Cora. "Sweetheart, let me," he said in her ear, knowing a whisper wouldn't carry over the sound of the rain upon the roof.

Dropping her arms to her sides, Cora watched her husband unbutton her blouse with gentle fingers, then slide the sodden fabric from her shoulders. His hair glinted silver in the soft light from the lantern, and she saw the same sort of alert concentration in the way he undressed her and lay her things over the wooden stall partitions as she had when he'd been driving the motor car earlier. It moved her in a way she couldn't describe to know that, even after decades together, he still devoted as much attention to the way he was with her as he would to something he'd just learned.

As Robert gestured for her to step out of her skirt, her expression softened considerably. He walked back toward her after spreading the garment out with the rest, picking up their blanket and wrapping it around her tightly. He rubbed her shoulders and arms through the blanket, trying to warm her. "There, isn't that better, my darling?"

Cora's loving expression turned into a coy one. The play of muscles along his bare chest and shoulders as he moved his hands along her arms distracted her from the unlikely situation in which they'd found themselves – stranded in the countryside, caught in a summer storm, in a barn, in their undergarments – and her body temperature went from cold to very warm in a matter of moments. "It would be better if you wrapped your arms around me too."

"Alright. I can do that." Robert, still focused upon warming her up, didn't realize her deeper meaning and simply drew her into his arms and held her close. "How is that?"

Closing her eyes, she let out a contented sigh. "Yes. That's a start." She worked her arms out from beneath the blanket and snaked them around his waist as he passed his hands over her back. When she slid them down farther, fondling his behind, he let out a sharp breath of astonishment.

"Cora!"

"Yes, darling?" she replied languidly as she continued to knead the taut muscles.

Robert breathed harder, finally recalling her coquettish look from before. "Oh, nothing, Cora. It's just I thought we might be more comfortable over there." He nodded his head to where he'd laid the horse blanket out upon the hay.

Lifting her head, she glanced from him to where he had indicated. Without a word, she pulled herself from his arms and went over to the little nest he'd made for them. Removing the blanket from her shoulders and adding it to the other, she reclined upon the layers of blankets, leaning back on her elbows and fixing her husband with a mischievous look. She laughed lightly as he stood there grinning at her, then raised an arm to crook a finger at him.

Bounding over to the perch in the hay, Robert stretched out next to her, both of them turned on their sides and leaning on their elbows to face one another. Robert's gentle fingers glided along the side of her face and cupped her cheek. "Are you sure you want to do this in a barn?" he inquired, chuckling.

Cora shrugged and smiled. She glanced up at the roof and started a bit when a clap of thunder sounded, shaking the entire barn. "It doesn't look like we'll be going anywhere soon, darling. Besides," she said with a low chuckle, playing with the curls upon his chest, "can you think of a better way to spend a rainy day?"

Robert shook his head and grinned. "No, my love. I can't." Slipping his hand to the back of her head, he drew her to him and kissed her hungrily. Cora moved even closer, her fingers grazing his chest and tracing over his nipples, eliciting the most satisfying of noises from him.

They were such satisfying noises that Cora pulled herself away from his kisses so her tongue could emulate on one nipple what her fingers were doing to the other. His breathing growing even heavier, Robert squirmed slightly as a result of her ministrations.

"Good God, Cora," he said gruffly. "What sort of spell are you weaving over me?"

Cora's eyes flickered down to where his arousal already strained against the front of his undergarments. It gave her a great sense of gratification to know she could have that effect without even so much as a hand straying below his waistline, and she grinned as she removed her mouth from one nipple to flick her tongue around the other.

Robert thought he might have to stop her soon, although it was really the last thing he wanted to do. She knew all the right places to touch him, the ways to send him soaring into absolute bliss. But he couldn't allow her to give all the pleasure and not have any for herself – as much as he knew she loved making him pant and groan with her attentions.

Finally, he simply had to caress her face and pull her head up to kiss her passionately once more. He nearly sighed in relief as he felt her slip her fingers beneath the waistband of his undergarments and work them down his legs. With one hand he reached down and slid them all the way off, letting them drop wherever they might fall, then he helped her with hers.

"Darling," she breathed against his lips. He'd brought his hand between her thighs and begun stroking her in a most agreeable manner. Just as thunder sent tremors through the barn again, his fingers sent delicious shivers through her body. She arched against his hand and pleaded with him, "Please, please…."

He'd been kissing her neck, but now he moved his head to capture her lips again, their breath mingling as their tongues teased one another. Still facing her, he slid his hand along the inside of her thigh and brought her leg up over his hip. Then, caressing her face, he sought her eyes by the lantern's gentle glow and, receiving her beautiful smile, he maneuvered himself between her legs in such a way that he could enter her and hold her against himself as they lay on their sides.

Cradling her with an arm underneath her shoulders, Robert kissed Cora tenderly and ran his hand lazily up and down her thigh as he moved against her, setting a deliberate cadence for them. A slow heat burned between the two, a heat that made Cora sigh in pleasure while she threaded her fingers through her husband's still damp hair, her other hand resting upon his behind to enjoy the incredible feel of the muscles as he maintained his measured thrusting.

For a while, they lived solely in these moments. Outside the barn, the storm raged, the wind whistling through the small cracks between door and frame, the rain hammering upon the tin of the roof, and thunder cracking all around. But, beyond this, the world didn't exist. There was nothing else besides the warmth they generated; the sweet salt taste of sweat; the hardness and softness of muscles and skin; the fragrance of the hay mixing with the traces of her perfume and the scent of their own bodies; and the sounds of their slow-burning passion rising above the din of the tempest.

Robert had created a tempest of another kind within Cora, and eventually it built to where she could no longer contain it. With a long, low moan, she pushed her hips forward and arched her back, pulling his lower body firmly to hers with both hand and leg. He stilled at this unspoken command, though it nearly cost him his sanity because of how she tightened and convulsed around him. As soon as she loosed her hold upon him, Robert moved to roll them over slightly, to press her back against the blankets, breathing heavily and resuming his earnest kissing. His previously deliberate cadence morphed into a feverish rhythm as his own need to feel her contract around him again became desperate.

With their earlier fire now stoked into greater heat, Cora was not long in achieving his desire. This time her outcry consisted of a series of short, sharp gasps, and these sounds, paired with the unbelievable feel of her second release, inescapably drove Robert to where he could no longer hold back. In one more thrust, he'd ascended to dizzying heights with a lingering groan of complete satiation.

After Robert pulled them both back onto their sides, they lay there entwined, gazing at each other and caressing one another tenderly, as they recovered their breath and let their heartbeats become normal. Once their skin cooled enough to feel the nip of the wind that found its way into the barn, Robert tugged the edges of their blanket up around them both, snuggling even farther into Cora's arms and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"See?" Cora smiled at him. "Isn't that a glorious way to spend a rainy afternoon?"

Robert chuckled, pressing kisses to her temple. "In my opinion, that should be the _only _way to spend a rainy afternoon."

* * *

A/N: Title and some events inspired by Norah Jones' "Come Away with Me."

"Come away with me in the night  
Come away with me  
And I'll write you a song

I want to walk with you  
On a cloudy day  
In fields where the yellow grass grows knee-high  
So won't you try to come

Come away with me..."


	2. While I'm safe there in your arms

Rain tapped steadily and insistently upon the roof, creating a soothing cocoon of white noise within the barn. Within another sort of cocoon, one created from several blankets upon the hay, lay Robert and Cora, spooned together. Robert's arms rested comfortably around her, perfectly still save for one thumb that couldn't seem to keep from brushing back and forth across her upper arm in feather-light strokes. As Cora slept on, in what he knew must be early morning, Robert cast his thoughts back over the previous day – then the previous evening. He couldn't help but smile at the memory and breathed in the scent of her loosened tresses against his face.

After their roll in the hay, they'd simply held one another for a long time, sharing sweetly lingering kisses and being content to stay right there together. Eventually Cora realized that their hideaway no longer shook with the violence of the storm, and all had gone quiet. Standing and drawing on his undergarments, Robert peered out the door to be sure. Clouds continued to darken the sky, but a ray of the low-hanging sun peeked between them. The rain had ceased. For at least a little while.

Hastening over to the horse stalls, Robert scrambled to put on the rest of his – still very soggy – clothes.

"Robert?" Cora clutched the blanket around herself and got up and went toward him. "Darling, what are you doing?"

"Well," he said, dancing around on one foot as he tugged a sock onto the other. "There's a break in the storm – and I mean 'break' because there will be more rain soon – so I'm going out to the motor to get us some food and some more blankets. It's actually a blessing that our staff seems so untrusting of Rosamund's ability to stock a country cottage adequately." Working his feet into his shoes, he cupped her face and pressed a kiss to her lips. "I won't be long."

Cora chuckled as he slipped out the barn door as hectically dressed as she'd ever seen. He hadn't bothered with his waistcoat, and his tie sat draped over this, his cufflinks resting safely on top of the silk of the tie. He'd shrugged into his jacket just as he'd left, lamenting that it was still so sodden, but not wishing to go out in only his shirtsleeves.

Becoming aware that she should take the time to "use the shrubbery" again, she slid into her skirt and blouse, stealing outside and finding a suitable place with sufficient privacy. Then, she stood and stretched, inhaling deeply the scent of the rain-soaked earth and savoring the warm tranquility of the early evening.

Noticing an abandoned trough against the opposite side of the barn, she ambled through the high grass to dip her hands into the clear rainwater. Splashing some on her face – which felt rather grimy from the sweat of their earlier exertions – she pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and applied it to her face and neck until they felt clean again. She reached up and touched her hair, giggling when she felt the curls straggling free of their pins, the locks tangled. She knew she had to look an absolute fright.

She didn't care.

In fact, as she began plucking the pins from the remains of O'Brien's carefully constructed coiffure, tucking these into her skirt pocket, she felt more carefree than she had in many years. Standing in front of the trough, she bent her head forward to brush her hands through her tresses, humming to herself, her fingers dexterously undoing the knots the damp and their activities had produced. She dipped a hand into the water, running it through her hair to smooth it as best as she could. Flipping her hair back over her shoulders, she turned her head and nearly jumped a foot off the ground in fright, gasping and pressing a hand to her chest.

A sheep stood calmly next to her, staring at her with what Cora thought had to be amusement. Apparently, she, too, was taking advantage of the pause in the storm. Cora slowly retreated from the animal, ready to break into a run if necessary. When she saw that the sheep had no intention to move, she ceased after a few steps, watching her. With a small motion that seemed to Cora tantamount to a shrug had it been human, the sheep turned her head and leaned down to drink from the trough.

"Well." Cora addressed the sheep sternly. "If you're the one who wandered out into the road and caused this… this… _chaos_…." She trailed off, her mind revisiting the last several hours. A smile wreathed her lips in spite of herself. She reconsidered her intended admonishment of the creature. "If you're the one who caused this chaos – this marvelously unplanned side trip into what seems to me a complete wilderness… then I thank you."

The sheep lifted her head serenely and stared at Cora once more. With a little nod, Cora turned on her heel and trekked back to the other side of the barn. She looked over her shoulder only once and was satisfied to see the sheep had simply remained by the trough, her eyes following Cora's billowing skirt.

For the wind had picked up considerably in the few moments since Cora had expressed her gratitude to the wayward ewe, and a scintillating tongue of lightning lashed against the darkening sky, to nearly immediate thundering applause. The storm was indeed upon them again, and Cora kept sentinel by the barn door, straining her eyes in the deepening purple of the dying sunset for any sign of Robert.

Apparently Robert hadn't missed the indications of the imminent downpour either; when Cora's eyes finally fixed on him, he was barreling toward her at a full run, the blankets rolled up under one arm and a basket clutched under the other. When he was within earshot, he bellowed, "Cora, for God's sake, get inside!" Another fork of lightning threw a flash of light around them, and the thunder was virtually simultaneous.

Cora opened the barn door and leapt inside a mere moment before the shower began. "Robert!" she cried, but her voice was lost in the sudden hammering of the rain drops.

Scampering through the tall, wet grass at a pace she'd rarely seen from him, Robert bounded into the barn in the following minute, skidding to a halt. He set the basket and blankets down carefully before shaking himself vigorously, rather like Isis might have done in the same circumstances.

Cora, laughing at him, turned to close the door, but stopped short with a small, breathy sigh. "Robert, come look!"

Robert ran his fingers through his hair to flick water away and give it some semblance of tidiness as he strode to join her. A sliver of setting sun was just visible upon the horizon, and the last rays of light splashed a double rainbow across the purplish grey of the clouds and steadily pouring rain. Robert rested a hand on Cora's shoulder and smiled when she abstractedly reached up to cover it with her own.

For a while they simply stood there together, gazing at the sky, Cora clasping her husband's hand in her own. Then the wind unexpectedly shifted, whipping the rain into the doorway. Reluctantly, Robert put his other hand on the door to slowly push it closed, pressing a kiss to Cora's hair.

Shutting out the wind and rain, Robert turned his wife around and looked down into her face. Cora's expression was peaceful, and her visage took on a soft sort of glow in the lamp light. She lifted her hands and gently ran her fingers through his hair, starting at the temples and ending at the nape of his neck. "Well, at least you didn't get quite as soaked as we did earlier."

Brushing the backs of his knuckles along her cheek, a slow grin stretched across his face. "No, not quite. And the blankets should be dry for the most part. Are you hungry?"

Smiling and acquiring a certain glint in her eye, she pulled him forward and crushed his mouth to hers, taking him by surprise. Pressing herself more ardently against him, she slid her arms around his neck and sucked a little upon his bottom lip before using her toes to elevate herself to nibble on his ear. Robert let out a low groan at the friction as her body glided upward along his before he heard her say, her breath hot on his earlobe, "You have no idea how hungry I am, darling."

From that point on, the evening was spent in a delightful haze of love-making and laughing, having another picnic on the floor of the barn and drinking wine, breathing each other in and finally going to sleep to the lullaby of a lazy rain.

And now Robert held Cora within the shelter of his arms, in the warmth of their nest of blankets on the hay, nuzzling his face into her hair and rubbing the one thumb languidly over her arm, even as he endeavored not to wake her. However, he felt his body respond to the images flashing upon his mind and the nearness of her smooth skin that still faintly smelled of lavender soap and their favorite perfume – a scent uniquely Cora's.

Robert often woke with Cora nestled against him, but most mornings he had to leave the comfort of their bed – her embrace – to go about his daily routine. Today, on his wife's birthday, he felt as if he'd been given a gift of his own. And he intended to savor every second of it.

Eventually, he found it well outside of his powers to control himself any longer as he waited for her to wake, and he feathered kisses along her shoulder and neck. He rubbed his chest gently against her back, just to be able to feel her smoothness against his own rougher skin, since he didn't want to draw his arms away from her.

Cora lay within a sleep so profound – their activities from the previous day having left her exhausted – that for close to a half hour, Robert sustained his quiet worship of her without waking her. At long last, though, she stirred and smiled before she even opened her eyes. His tender attentions filled her with such a complete feeling of love and reaffirmed for her his utter adoration of her. Keeping her eyes closed for a while, she simply let him continue, listening to the rain drops drumming upon the roof and his carefully controlled breathing.

When she spoke, she pressed her hips backward against him at the same time, having felt a very distinctive pressure against the small of her back. "My, my, we're up early, aren't we?"

Robert met her softly rumbling chuckle with his own. "Well, I couldn't stop thinking of a certain incredibly beautiful woman who knows exactly how to make me come undone."

"Anyone I know?"

"Oh, I'm not sure. She happens to have a birthday today. Do you know a lady like that?" He continued to place gentle kisses along her shoulder blades and a little way down her spine, causing her to shiver with pleasure.

"Well, I happen to have a birthday today, but surely you mean someone much younger." She grazed her fingernails lightly over his forearm, looking down at her hand.

Robert chuckled again. "She sometimes has the energy of two twenty-five-year-olds. Does that count?"

Laughing, Cora smacked his arm playfully. "You're appalling, Robert Crawley."

Drawing her even closer to him, he said in the lowest voice he could manage and be heard over the rain, "Appalling and completely head over heels for you, the woman who captured my fancy before I even realized how much, and who is more lovely and extraordinary now than she was all those years ago." Pressing his forehead to her temple he said, "Happy birthday, my sweetheart."

"Oh, Robert," she breathed, turning her head to kiss him. "I hope our being stranded doesn't ruin your surprise for me, darling."

He smiled and shook his head slightly. "Not at all. I think I can find a way to manage everything I'd planned – apart from drawing you a hot bath, that is."

"Well, you can make that up to me some other time. And perhaps you would join me?"

To her offer she added the tiniest motion of her hips. Robert closed his eyes and moaned as his arousal hardened at this teasing contact. "Cora, I'll join you anytime, anywhere. Just don't toy with me like that."

Repeating the motion, she reveled in his response – both verbal and nonverbal, neither voluntary – as she purred, "Ah, but it's my birthday. And I enjoy indulging these flights of fancy." Cora swept the bottom of her foot along his calf, this having the added advantage of making her hips move against his arousal in a steady fashion.

Beginning to appreciate her current fancy, Robert burrowed his face into the hollow of her neck, growling between kisses, "Don't let me forget to give you your birthday spankings later…."

Cora gasped when Robert's arms broke apart, one hand dancing up the curve of her hip and the dip of her waist and over her side before coming to rest on her breast, his touch featherlight. At the same time this hand moved up her body, the arm underneath her waist rotated downward. This hand caressed her abdomen before sliding down further to fondle the juncture of her thighs, making small passes over her and then grazing over her inner thighs languorously. Robert watched a rose flush spread across her skin and listened as her breathing became uneven, elated at how quickly she began to respond to his touch.

"Robert," she breathed. "I may have to spank you as well…." She interrupted herself with a sharp intake of breath when he gently tweaked her nipple. "You're being extremely naughty."

A muffled chortle vibrated against Cora's neck as Robert ceased kissing it only long enough to respond. "I suppose I could stop if you wanted, my dear. After all, it _is_ your birthday, and you should get what you want." He brushed his fingers over the juncture between her legs just then; he hadn't done anything more than that, concentrating instead on the silky skin of her inner thighs – deliberately teasing her.

Groaning at this touch, at the way he simultaneously kneaded her breast gently, his thumb circling over her nipple, at the way he occasionally nipped her neck lightly as he kissed it, Cora began to squirm against him. "No, please – don't stop. And what I want…" Unable to speak anymore, she tilted her head back, indicating to him that he should bring his attentions toward her collar bone. She ran her fingers down his arm and then guided his hand so he would touch her more intimately. Reaching her other hand back, she captured his arousal, her curled fingers making passes along it.

Dipping his tongue into the hollow of her clavicle, Robert was rewarded with a whimper of pleasure and a more concentrated attention of her thumb on the underside of his arousal. "Oh God, Cora," he breathed upon her neck, redoubling his efforts to reciprocate in an appropriate manner. Switching hands, he placed one over her previously unattended breast and snaked the other down to slip two fingers inside her. Her yelp of pleased surprise only added to his own delight.

It seemed no time at all before they'd worked each other up into such a state that when Cora insistently draped her leg back over her husband's thigh and pulled him forward with it, he immediately responded to her silent entreaty by repositioning himself, sliding slightly down her body so he could replace his fingers with his arousal. Cora's hand glided over his hip and behind him to squeeze his buttocks, urging him to thrust harder and deeper. He complied, his own ache to fill her again and again encouraging him at least equally to the resolute press of her hand and the bleats of enjoyment escaping her throat. His concentration on this was such that he was unable to do anything else: his forehead rested upon her shoulder, he clutched her tightly to his chest, and his other hand found hers and took it, twining their fingers together.

Their coupling became ever more frenzied, the blanket that had hitherto covered them to the waist slipping down onto the floor, forgotten, the hay making a faint rustling noise under their makeshift bed. Sensing that he was near his release – and sensing the same for Cora – Robert moved the hand that pressed her to himself down to stroke her in a way that he hoped would help hasten hers. He had already brought her there a number of times, but he wanted to feel her shudder and tense around him once more before he was spent.

Finally, a particular flick of his fingers sent her spinning, and he let out a pronounced moan against her hair at the exquisite feel of her, a moan that mingled with her cry of bliss. As she wriggled her hips back against him, he knew one more thrust would bring him spiraling with her. Robert's fingers tightened around hers as he did this, groaning deeply, awash in exceptional pleasure.

After coherent thought returned to them both – along with their nomal breathing – Cora turned in his arms, sighing happily when they wrapped more securely around her. Giving his wife a long, lingering kiss before she nestled up to him, her hands resting on his chest and her head just under his chin, Robert heaved his own sigh of absolute contentment.

"Robert?" Her breath tickled his chest.

"Yes, darling?" He began twisting and untwisting a lock of her hair around his fingers.

Cora nuzzled her head into his shoulder. "If that is a vision of all the surprises you have for me today, I may collapse from exhaustion long before the day is over – or even properly begun."

Robert felt her shake with gentle laughter. "Not to worry, my love. Most of your surprises are not so… erm… _physical_ in nature." He chuckled.

"Pity," she said, tracing a pattern over his chest with one finger.

Pressing a kiss to her forehead before bending his head down to her ear, he murmured, "I still think you'll like what I have planned. And you can do anything else you want besides. It is, as I said, _your_ birthday, and you should get what you want. Whatever that may be, I shall do everything in my power to give it to you."

Waiting for him to withdraw his head so she could look at him, she touched her hand to his face. "You already have, darling." She grinned. "As they say, enough is as good as a feast."

Her husband's expression reflected his disappointment at the incomprehensible turn the conversation had taken, but her next words caused his face to light up again.

"But it's my birthday, and I want a feast," Cora declared, mirth in her eyes, before kissing him soundly.

Rolling her over onto her back, Robert twisted his fingers into her hair and gazed down at her lovingly. "If it's a feast you want, sweetheart, then a feast you shall have."

* * *

"And I want to wake up with the rain  
Failling on a tin roof  
While I'm safe there in your arms  
So all I ask is for you  
To come away with me in the night  
Come away with me"


	3. We'll kiss on a mountaintop

Cora became somewhat cranky by early afternoon. They'd eaten what little bit was left in their basket from the night before, and she was still hungry. The rain fell relentlessly, and Robert refused to have either of them go out to the motor in the downpour.

"Robert, you're being ridiculous. I'm famished, and I am _this_ close –" she indicated how close with her thumb and forefinger almost meeting – "to seeing if hay would be a good main course for a countess."

He paused in pacing to and fro across the wooden floor, unclasping his hands from behind his back and lifting them in a gesture of helplessness. "What would you have me do, Cora? I can't have you ill, and if I go retrieve the things from the motor, they'll be drenched before I can get them here." He knew it was somewhat unreasonable of him, but ever since his wife's Spanish flu, he got nervous if she had so much as the sniffles.

She was sitting on their perch in the hay, her legs and arms both crossed in annoyance. Her face grew red with exasperation. "I won't get ill! I'll be fine. Please – you promised me a feast, and we've barely had crumbs!"

Robert's shoulders slumped, and he sighed heavily. "Well, putting aside the fact that you'd meant a very different kind of meal when you said that –" he almost took a step back when she fixed him with that disapproving, stony stare of hers, but held his ground – "I wouldn't call a loaf of bread split between us 'crumbs'. And I won't have you going out there, Cora." He set his jaw and drew himself up to his full height, his hands balled into fists at his sides.

Cora's eyes flashed at him, and she stood, putting her hands on her hips. "And just how do you plan on stopping me? Hmmm?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, she'd already darted toward the door. "Cora, wait!"

Robert spun around and headed for her, but she danced out of his grasp and wrenched open the door. Not sparing even a glance behind her, she flew through the wet grass on bare feet, lifting her skirt to allow her to run freely, beginning to laugh at the feel of the rain upon her face.

"Cora, come back!" Robert yelled, pulling the door closed behind him and trotting after her. He caught up with her soon enough, but stopped short when he saw why. He watched her pirouette across the grass, her head tilted back and her arms thrown out with joy. Her laughter filled his ears and heart like melodious birdsong, and he thought it might be the loveliest thing he'd ever heard. The rain soaked through her clothes, and they clung to her figure, allowing him to discern her delicate curves as she twirled around.

She took his breath away.

He stood there for several moments, simply staring at her, wondering once again how on earth he was so fortunate as to have such a wife. When she grew still, needing to catch her breath, she caught his eye and – seeing his expression – smiled widely, blinking against the raindrops hitting her face. She extended her hand to him, beckoning. Robert walked the few steps and put his hand in hers. Immediately, Cora laced their fingers together and started running toward the motor, bringing him along with her.

But when they got there, instead of opening the door and getting in, Cora leaned back against the passenger door, on the side hidden from the road, still holding his hand.

"Cora, we should –"

Cora shook her head. "Shhhh…." she said, placing a finger over his lips. Then she swept her eyes over him. He'd left the barn so quickly in order to stop her that he was still in his shirtsleeves. They'd been so casual that day, in fact, that he had on neither tie nor waistcoat. His shirt was open at the collar, and his cuffs were rolled up several times. It was a state of undress in which Cora rarely saw him. Her eyes darkened as she studied him, noticing the blush that crept into his cheeks at her careful regard. He began to fidget, and she appreciated how the rain molded the white cotton of his shirt over the muscles of his chest and shoulders.

Robert nearly lost his balance and collided with her when she unexpectedly let go his hand to take hold of his braces and tug him toward her. He just managed to catch himself – and not step on her bare feet – as she crushed her lips to his. Startled by this, it took him a few seconds to respond properly, kissing her in return and placing his hands upon her upper arms. The way she leaned back against the motor and had pulled him forward caused their lower bodies to press together, and Robert became keenly aware of a certain physical response to her impetuousness and their contact.

Running her hands languidly up and down the braces, she made sure the backs of her fingers brushed over his nipples with each pass. He moved his hands down her sides where they rested upon her waist for a few moments. His tongue explored her mouth ravenously, and her delighted sighs encouraged him to slide his hands lower to cup her bottom. She purred from somewhere in her throat and pulled him even closer to her.

Groaning, Robert lifted his head and met her eyes. "Cora, I want you, please…."

Cora appeared to have more surprises in mind for her birthday than he did. She let go of one of the braces, snaked her hand down between them, and pressed her palm against the prominent bulge in his trousers, fondling him. Even in the grey dimness of the rain he could see that her blue eyes were several shades darker than normal. And she smirked at him. "Then why don't you have me?"

It amazed Robert that after so many years together, his wife still had the uncanny and unmatched ability to make him blush. It didn't happen all the time, but sometimes – like now – her ideas simply took him aback. He looked around them. "We – we're getting in the motor, right?"

Shaking her head slowly, she leaned toward him and merely said, "No."

"But – but –" he sputtered in disbelief as she reached down and underneath her skirt, bending a bit to remove her undergarments. These she tucked into his trouser pocket.

"We wouldn't want to lose those in the middle of nowhere, would we?" She giggled at the incomprehensible expression on his face. Excitement battled with astonishment and possibly embarrassment. She seemed to have struck him speechless. Then she turned her eyes downward. If anything, the bulge in his trousers had gotten bigger. Looking back up, she waggled her eyebrows at him.

Taking advantage of his apparent frozen state, she bent down slightly again, caught at her skirt, and raised it, tucking it into her waistband. The fabric now just covered the juncture of her thighs. Robert watched this, gawking at her with his mouth agape. But he couldn't seem to stop her. He wasn't sure he wanted to stop her. Raising his eyes and looking at her now expectant face, he blinked and shut his jaw with a _snap_.

Once again, she took the lead, gripping his braces and drawing him to her. "Robert," she purred. "Show me how much you want me."

Robert knew she was toying with him. He knew it, but he didn't care. She had woven her spell over him, like a sorceress, and he was helpless to resist her. Furthermore, he had no desire to resist her. His blood had quickened; there was an unquestionable titillation to the scenario she'd put forth, even if it was only meant to tease. Recognizing that she wholly expected him to insist they get into the car before carrying things any further, he was determined to be the one to surprise _her_.

So he pressed himself more fully against her and captured her lips once more, cupping her face and rubbing his body against hers. She let out an astounded gasp. Robert glided his hands down her front once she'd succumbed to the kiss and then to his trousers. He unbuttoned them and pushed down his undergarments, raising her skirt a bit so it draped over them both, his arousal resting against her hip.

"Robert!" she exclaimed in bewilderment, her hands still twisted in his hair where they'd ended up during the kiss.

"You began this little game," he growled into her ear before sucking lightly on the delicate skin just below it. "If you want to quit, we can get into the motor right now." His breath was hot against her skin, clinging to her like her wet garments.

Cora closed her eyes, noises of pleasure at his attentions to her neck being rent from her throat. "N-no," she managed to say. She wrapped one leg around his, rubbing a bare foot over the back of his calf. "Please," she begged. "Please, I can't wait any longer." She tugged gently upon his hair so he would kiss her mouth again.

Sliding one arm around her waist, Robert used the other hand to guide himself into her, then hooked his arm under her thigh, lifting it to give him deeper access. He groaned into her mouth and slowly began moving against her, kissing her even more eagerly.

Cora found herself grateful for the steady, light rainfall; it kept her cool as the heat between them rose. Eventually, she untwisted her fingers from his hair and let them stray down to his back, slipping her hands beneath the waistband of his undergarments and down to feel the tautness of his muscles as they flexed with his motions. Moaning at her touch, those motions became more frenzied still, until the motor car was rocking with their love-making.

The need to take a deep breath made Robert break off their kiss, and he nuzzled his face into her neck, panting. The feel of this was interesting to her, his cheeks and chin being rough with stubble – somewhat unusual, but not unpleasant. Then he grazed his hand across smoothness of the thigh that he supported, sending a frisson of delight through her, the contrast between multiple sensations proving her undoing. She let out a series of sharp squeaks, and Robert felt her toes curl and bear into the back of his thigh.

"Robert, yes," she cried out, her voice lost in the sound of a thunder clap. The storm had become worse around them, but they had been too busy to notice.

He kept thrusting into her, lifting her leg a little higher, triggering a unexpected second wave of bliss for Cora. She threw her head back against the motor door and pressed her curled toes once again into his trouser leg, making noises that were virtually inhuman.

"Oh God, Cora," Robert murmured against her throat, fascinated and taken to new heights by her unmistakable satisfaction in their feverish coupling.

Cora bent her head down to his ear, breathing into it, "My darling, more… please, more…."

He could have had his own release right then – her desire, her need, providing the catalyst. Instead, he steeled himself to deliver as best he could. His wife wanted more, and he so craved to give her everything she wanted.

It took all he had in him not to give way. He concentrated upon giving her pleasure: he nibbled at her neck and grazed his fingers over her thigh once more. Bringing his arm out from behind her back, he molded one of her breasts, flicking his thumb over her nipple through her sodden blouse. She sighed and moaned, and squeezed his buttocks, and his heart raced as he plunged into her with both measured deliberation and unconstrained passion.

Robert hung on to his composure by a mere thread when finally – finally – she dug her fingertips into his behind, holding him against her and contracting strongly around his arousal. Her mouth opened, but no noise came from it, as if she was beyond crying out. Then she rocked against him with a whisper of, "Robert."

These smallest of motions were more than he could take, and involuntarily he pulled back and then pushed into her one last time before stilling completely, his hand over her wildly beating heart; he couldn't help thinking that his self-control had reaped unimaginable rewards.

Cora brushed her lips over his forehead and then rested her cheek upon his head. "Mmmmm…." she hummed, in a haze of elation.

"Mmmmm…" he murmured in agreement, his head in the hollow of her neck. After a moment, he gently lowered her leg and encircled her waist with his arm, holding her.

Each felt as if they could stay just like that for hours, the rain continuing to shower over them. But Cora noticed lightning striking the sky, and Robert felt, rather than heard, her stomach grumble with hunger.

"Cora," he said, lifting his head and pressing a kiss to her cheek. "How about you get comfortable in the backseat, and I'll get one of these baskets out of the boot? I know you're still hungry, and we should take shelter. The storm's only getting worse."

"One more kiss," she breathed, extracting her hands from under his waistband and placing them on his face, kissing him tenderly.

Touching his forehead to hers and gazing at her, he moved his hands down and underneath the cover of her skirt to make himself presentable again. Tugging at her hem, he draped the rain-soaked cloth over her legs with a grin. Sliding a hand in her hair, he bent his mouth to her ear. "I'll keep these undergarments in my possession for now, shall I?" Nipping at her earlobe, he reached behind her to open the door.

She hopped into the motor with a chuckle and watched through the rain-streaked window as he went around to the boot. Curling up in a corner of the seat, Cora tucked her bare feet up under her and waited only a few moments before he opened the door once more, handing in the hamper, then climbing in himself, sitting beside her.

He leaned across the seat and pecked her lightly on the lips before opening the basket. "It's not as roomy as the barn, but it'll do in a pinch."

"It's cozy, I think," Cora remarked, devouring the fruit he handed her and grinning at him.

Robert could barely see her in the semi-darkness, but he could tell she was a vast deal more contented than she'd been an hour before. He chuckled and kept putting a variety of food between them on the seat. "There," he said once he'd made a whole spread. "A veritable feast for you, darling."

"Thank you, my dear."

He joined her in the meal. They fell silent, eating and – in Robert's case – thinking. When they were close to finishing all the food in front of them, he said, "Cora, I hope you're not disappointed. This wasn't how today was supposed to go."

The disheartened tone in his voice struck her. "Robert," she said softly, "I'll admit that being stranded and in the middle of a rainstorm hasn't been ideal, and I know I was surly earlier, but…." She took a deep breath and reached across to clasp his hand. "For the most part, it's been marvelous." Casting her mind back over their morning, and their remarkably naughty encounter against the motor car door, she giggled. "I am storing up quite a few memories that will no doubt make up a least part of my fantasies for years."

Robert chuckled then grew silent again. "But – that's not all that today was supposed to be about, sweetheart. Not that I am in any way complaining about those bits." He raised her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it and then turned it to kiss her palm lovingly.

"I should hope not. I think I'd be devastated if you hadn't enjoyed them as thoroughly as I did."

"Hmmmm," he purred, his lips being otherwise occupied in feathering the inside of her wrist with kisses.

"Darling," she said, laughing, "you're very easily distracted today." She turned her wrist slightly to brush her fingers across his cheek. "And bristly."

Robert covered her hand with his and ran it lightly over the lower part of his face. "I can't help being distracted by such an intoxicating creature. As for the bristles…. I can try to do something about it if we can get back to the barn with some of our things. If it bothers you."

"No, I don't think it's bothersome. But it's certainly different." She chuckled. "Perhaps we can experiment with it like this while we're out here."

"'Experiment'?" he queried.

Leaning forward across the remnants of their luncheon, Cora pressed her cheek to his. "Um-hmmm. Experiment." Her low chuckle sent an electric current of expectation through him.

"Well, I wouldn't want to try shaving in such a place anyway, would I?" He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of her hair that had fallen forward in a damp tangle across his face.

"No, I don't think so," she whispered.

Robert reached up to thread his fingers through her hair and turned his head to cover her mouth with his. With one hand on the seat beside his knee, Cora deepened the kiss, leaning heavily into him, compelling him backwards. Ending the kiss reluctantly, Robert drew his head back to look at her. "Did you get everything you wanted to eat?" he asked huskily. The effect she had on him today was incredible, and he realized that he was even now prepared to take her again – if she so desired.

Her nod and her uneven breathing assured him that she did so desire. And where Robert was ready to sit up fully and put what was left of their meal neatly back into the hamper, at his words she merely shunted it all into the floor and leaned into him again. She encouraged him to lie back, shifting so he could do so comfortably, straddling his waist as she kissed him earnestly.

Kicking off his shoes, Robert bent his knees and rested his feet on the seat. He twisted both hands into Cora's hair, holding it back from her face, and, leading by example, transformed their kisses into a leisurely, comprehensive rediscovery of what had sparked that first true flame for them as a couple. Robert kept picturing when she'd drunkenly kissed him in a restaurant and how astonished he'd been at just how acute his reaction had been. One kiss from her and he'd nearly forgotten everything else around him.

Cora, on the other hand, was remembering the carriage ride home that night and how apprehensive she'd been that her behavior in the restaurant had angered him. But, instead, he'd asked her to kiss him that way again. When she did, and he kissed her in return, the entire carriage had spun – and even more so when he'd tentatively brushed his fingers over her décolletage….

She felt a decided tingling and smiled against his lips at the memory. Until then, Robert had been able to fully concentrate on his exploration of her mouth, but at her perceptible shiver of delight, he let go of her hair. As his hands strayed down her body, Cora took her cue and, keeping a hand behind his ear where it had come to rest, she used the other to twist her hair and pull it all forward over one shoulder, holding it back for them. Robert tugged at her skirt, pulling it out from beneath her knees. Slipping his hands under the hem, they wandered over her thighs and up over her behind, kneading it gently before sliding back down her thighs. He made countless passes over her this way as they continued to take their time, striving to reawake facets of their love-making they'd not realized lay in slumber within them.

Eventually, Cora began unbuttoning his shirt – with agonizing slowness in Robert's opinion. He groaned as her fingers flitted between them, baring his chest and then helping him shrug off his braces and then out of his shirt. His breathing became even heavier once her lips began trailing down his throat and over his chest, her dusky hair tickling him. She refrained from touching his nipples for a while, so that when she finally twirled her tongue around one of them, attaching her lips to it, he involuntarily bucked his hips, and she nearly toppled into the floor.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, blushing and getting a firmer grip on her thighs, while she simultaneously giggled and ran a fingertip over the other nipple.

"Don't apologize, darling. It gratifies me to no end to have you react so intensely." The low rumble of her chuckle teased him before she bent down again, returning her attention to his nipples.

Robert closed his eyes firmly and let her work her magic. It was such an exquisite form of torture and soon had him writhing and groaning. Her answering trills merely heightened his need to where his trousers felt far too constrictive. "Cora," he moaned out.

She didn't heed him; his exclamation simply seemed to spur her on. To get her attention, he slid his hand up the inside of her thigh and over her very deliberately. She gasped in surprise and nearly bit down hard upon the nipple she'd been teasing. Luckily, she remembered herself enough to avoid that particular outcome and instead inhaled sharply, pressing her forehead into his chest as she moved her hips, grinding against his hand. Cora had succeeded in maintaining a slow burn with regard to her own desire during the preceding activities between them, but at his purposeful touch, she felt her whole body suddenly ignite.

In no time at all her blouse had joined his shirt on the floor, and they scrambled to unbutton her skirt, lifting it over her head. Cora bent down again to kiss him, dipping her tongue into his mouth. Her bare breasts pressed into his chest, and her elation at feeling their skin meet once more made her moan with pleasure. Robert fumbled with his trouser buttons, her kisses and the contact of skin against skin breaking his concentration. He couldn't say how he finally divested himself of his trousers and undergarments, but he evidently found a way, because the next thing he knew, Cora was straightening her back, gliding backwards and taking him deeply into herself, purring with delight. Her buttocks rested against his raised thighs, and he wrapped his hands around her waist, sighing both his satisfaction and his longing.

Now that their bodies were joined, their previous languor prevailed over haste. Robert kissed her with enthusiasm, but encouraged her to take the lead otherwise. His fingers skimmed over her waist and hips as Cora gyrated her hips in tiny circles, keeping herself tightly against him otherwise. She purred rapturously when, soon enough, she began shuddering. Needing to change tack, she stilled for just a moment to enjoy the delicious convulsions. Once they'd waned, she ran her hands down Robert's chest. Feeling him twitch inside her as she grazed her thumbs over his nipples, gratified to hear his corresponding grunt of delight, she rolled her hips up and down over him.

The renewed fervor of his kisses revealed to her how much he liked what she was doing. He tried to lift himself up to meet her, but she slid her lower legs back over his thighs, communicating to him that he should be still. Robert did his level best to comply; it was such sweet agony as her tongue slowly plunged into his mouth and back out, mirroring the movements of her hips. Instinct took over again, and Robert found Cora seizing his hands because he couldn't stop himself from attempting to guide her hips into a faster tempo. She endeavored to distract him by placing his hands on her breasts, sighing into his mouth when he fondled them. Fortunately, this had the effect he'd wanted all along, and she steadily increased her cadence until she could hardly catch her breath, much less continue to kiss him.

At long last, she removed her legs from his thighs, resting them down on the seat on either side of him. He grunted happily to be allowed to drive his hips up, and she met him stroke for stroke with renewed vigor, her cries echoing in the small space. Her climaxes became more intense and closer together, and Robert marveled again at what seemed to have come over the pair of them that day. Watching – feeling – his wife's excitement tided him over for a while, but ultimately he knew he was close to his own release.

"Cora," he breathed, lifting her head from where it reposed upon his chest to look at her as best he could in the dim light. Still caressing her face, he closed his eyes and moaned deeply as she tightened around him once again. "Oh God, I…." He crushed his lips to hers.

Knowing exactly where he was and what he needed, Cora sat down hard upon him. She kissed him tenderly and rotated her hips, contracting her muscles around him very consciously. He heaved a great sigh of ecstasy, and she ceased moving, aware that he'd reached his climax.

As she rubbed her lips gently over his, she felt him smile. Cora had slipped her hands underneath his shoulders, her fingertips barely brushing over his skin. Robert still cupped her face in his hands. Opening his eyes, he smiled even wider. "My love," he whispered, running his thumbs tenderly over her cheekbones. She kissed him in response, then lay her head on his shoulder, sighing contentedly.

Robert glanced around the motor car as he wrapped his arms around his wife, holding her tightly to him. The windows now sported a thick layer of fog, and clothes and bits of food littered the floor. The sounds of the rain had almost completely abated, the storm evidently having either passed or broken off for a while.

"Cora? Are you comfortable?" He drew lazy patterns upon her back with his fingers.

"I'm a little cold… now," she murmured with a little chuckle.

Robert pressed a kiss to her hair and grinned. "Well, you're the one reclining with your, er, back exposed." He felt a tiny swat of her hand upon his shoulder, the most she could do with her arms under his back. "I think the rain has stopped at last. I can't tell exactly because of how much we've steamed up the windows –" here he chuckled – "but if it has, it might be a good time to gather some things and head back to the barn." He whispered against her hair, "As truly magnificent as that was, I'm not sure I would want to try to sleep in here tonight. And I _would_ like to do some of the things I planned for your birthday."

Cora nestled against him, sighing. "As much as I would love to just stay right here, I will admit that there is some logic to your thinking." She let out a small yawn. "Besides, my legs are becoming cramped."

"Let's sit up then, darling. Depending upon what this weather has in mind, perhaps we'll take a nice slow walk back to the barn. Unless, of course, you're about to fall asleep." He brushed her hair back from her shoulders.

"No, no, I'm alright, Robert…." Yawning once more, she sat up slowly, carefully, and waited for him to swing his legs over the side of the seat before she plopped herself down next to him. She laughed when she saw their clothes strewn about the floor. "Goodness, what a mess!"

"Ah, we'll soon have it righted." He picked up his trousers from the top of the pile and twitched her undergarments out of the pocket. "I think you can have these back." He grinned at her. "For now."

Cora giggled and plucked the delicate silk from his hand. Pulling them over her legs, she remarked, "You know, I think I'm actually hungry again."

Robert's bark of laughter filled the motor car. Shaking his head, he turned and kissed her soundly on the lips, his hand under her chin. "Cora Crawley, you are incorrigible, and I love you."

* * *

"Come away with me and we'll kiss  
on a mountaintop  
Come away with me  
And I'll never stop loving you"


	4. I'll never stop loving you

Cora continued to yawn as they made their way - laden with a basket and a case apiece – back through the wet grass to the barn. Setting down their things, Robert fished around in one of the baskets until he located a dinner roll.

"Here, darling. Eat this, and then I think you should have a nap." He chuckled. "I fear I may have worn you out."

Biting into the roll, Cora shook her head. "No, I'm not tired, truly. Besides, if I sleep, won't you be bored?" Her expression serious, she devoured the rest of the roll, then brushed her hands over her skirt to get rid of the crumbs.

Robert put her case up on the stack of hay and opened it for her. "I won't get bored. In fact, it suits my purposes well." He gave her an enigmatic look as he held up a dress. "And when you wake, I want you to wear this. Will you?"

Cora smiled. The dress he showed her was one of his favorites. "Of course I will, darling." She stepped in front of him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "And I think I will have that nap. After I've had a little visit to 'the shrubbery'." She chuckled and swept out through the open barn door.

They'd decided to keep the door open to let in the fresh air until it rained next. The sky was still quite dark, and it was certain to storm again before the sun set. But, until it did, they had determined upon enjoying the fresh breeze and what little light shone between the clouds.

Robert sat beside Cora for a while as she fell asleep on their nest of blankets in the hay, stroking her hair gently and occasionally brushing a kiss across her forehead. Then… he got to work.

Cora awoke to the feel of Robert's lips upon her cheek. She smiled before she even opened her eyes.

However, from his place sitting behind her, he didn't see this. So he began to croon softly in her ear, "Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me. Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee. Sounds of the rude world, heard in the day, lull'd by the moonlight have all passed away."

As her husband didn't sing to her very often, Cora lay very still so as to relish every sweet note.

"Beautiful dreamer, queen of my song, list' while I woo thee with soft melody." Here Robert paused to press a kiss to her temple, then continued, "Gone are the cares of life's busy throng. Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me – beautiful dreamer, awake unto me."

Cora turned and grinned at Robert. "What a wonderful way to wake up, my darling." She stretched her arms over her head and then reached them up to encircle his neck. Pulling him down gently, she kissed him, letting out a hum of pleasure.

"Sweetheart – my beautiful dreamer." He smiled down at her and caressed her face. "You were asleep for over two hours. I thought it was about time to wake you before you slept the rest of your birthday away."

"Thank you, my love." She swept her eyes over him as he continued to run his thumb over her cheek. "My, you look handsome, Robert. It would be difficult to tell that we've been hiding away in a barn with no attendants. Well, apart from the whiskers." She chuckled, brushing a hand over his chin, which produced a rasping sound.

"No mirror," came his simple explanation. "But, otherwise, I wanted to look my best for my dearest one," he said sincerely, giving her a tender kiss.

Upon sitting up, she gasped. "Robert! What – how – where did it all come from?"

Robert stood and held his hand out to her. "The motor car. That boot is bigger than I ever thought."

Taking his proffered hand, she stood as well and gazed around the barn. He'd put candles everywhere. As it was daylight – nearing sunset – and the door of the barn still ajar, they weren't lit, but they were ready. Robert had also readied their dinner; he'd spread a blanket out on the floor, and it was set with fine crystal and china. A bottle of red wine sat to the side, uncorked so it could breathe. A small stack of prettily wrapped gifts rested upon one of the plates.

Cora could see now that Robert had also tied ribbons of her favorite colors into clumsy bows around every single thing in the barn that could possibly have a bow. Tacked up on one of the stall doors was a handmade sign that read, "Happy Birthday!" Cora discerned that around this their family had written personal greetings for her, which she would read later.

"You did all this during my nap?" she asked, turning to him in awe, tears shining in her eyes.

He nodded. "The only things I'd planned – besides the hot bath – that weren't possible were the champagne and the music. I was going to use Rosamund's gramophone, and I brought our favorite records, so we could dance to them."

"Oh, Robert. Still, everything is lovely." She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest with a long, contented sigh.

"I'm so happy you like it. If we eat soon, I've positioned our 'table'," he chuckled here, "so that we can watch the sunset. But first, I'll keep watch at the door way whilst you change into your dinner dress." Dropping a kiss atop her head, he released her and crossed over to the door with a wink.

Cora made quick work of changing out of her clothing. Checking to make sure Robert gazed out the door at every juncture, she also changed her undergarments and ran her hairbrush through her tumbled locks. The fresh clothing did much to revive her; she crossed from the hay stack to the doorway, putting her arms around her husband's middle and sighing happily. Robert placed his hand on hers and, keeping his eyes on the setting sun, asked, "Can I look now?"

"Yes, Robert. You can look."

He turned and surveyed her appearance. "More beautiful than the night I met you," he breathed. Gazing at her, he smiled and played with one of her curls, twisting it around his forefinger absently. "Are you hungry, my dearest heart?"

"Ravenous, darling." She looked on as he took her hand, kissed it tenderly, then led her to the blanket laid out for them.

"You can open those gifts now or later," he told her, helping her to sit comfortably in front of them.

Cora watched as he walked around to his own place setting. "I think I'll wait, if that suits, Robert."

"Whatever you would like, my love. It's _your_ birthday after all." He beamed at her from across the blanket and poured wine into her glass.

"Yes, I'll wait." She moved the stack of gifts so they sat beside her, then picked up her glass.

Robert took up his own glass as well. "Now, might I toast to your birthday, Cora?" He grinned, teasing her about the day before.

Cora laughed. "Of course you can, my dear."

"Good." He lifted his glass and said, "To my darling wife, an amazing, wonderful woman, magnificent mother, doting grandmother, and the very best friend I could ever have hoped for – who is more radiant now than she was our first year of marriage." Robert watched Cora blush and smiled wider. "May this year bring her all things beautiful and good, as she always brings to me." He took her hand and kissed it. "To you, my sweetheart. Happy birthday." Clinking his glass with hers, he drank a long sip of wine, his eyes never leaving her face.

After taking a drink, Cora pressed his hand. "Robert, you're so good to me. I love you."

"Cora, you're the one who taught me what true love is. My gratitude for that – for you – is eternal." He put his glass down and squeezed her hand one more time before letting go. "I am afraid that dinner is much the same. There are only so many things that keep for several days." He set the food out between them. "But there is plenty at least."

Smiling at him, she remarked, "Mrs. Patmore put in plenty of my favorite cheese and fruits, so it's a feast in my eyes."

"I'm glad of that then, Cora." Robert turned to pour more wine, and the sky caught his eye. "Look, sweetheart. Isn't it marvelous?"

Leaning back with her hands behind her on the blanket, Cora gazed out the door at how the sliver of the setting sun had set the entire sky on fire. "Robert, it's breathtaking."

Robert observed how the sight elated her, causing a kind of light to shine from within her even as the sun's rays spilled through the doorway onto her, touching her dark hair with glints of red and making her eyes an even more intense shade of blue. Sometimes it still amazed him how time had treated his wife. It wasn't as though she had been left unmarked by it – she had. But it appeared to him that every year had only added to her beauty, even with all they'd been through. True, there were times that she did look her age, that she looked defeated and exhausted. Yet they'd always managed to make it through – and Cora shone more magnificently after every hardship. Robert could never figure out how she did it – or what he could have ever done to deserve such a wife.

"Yes," he finally answered, still gazing at her. "Breathtaking is the right word."

Cora turned her head slowly toward him, realizing what he'd meant. She blushed and lowered her lashes with a smile. "I meant the sunset."

"I know you did," he whispered. "But I promise you, Cora, that the view you see there is nothing compared to the one I see right here in front of me."

"Robert, if you're trying to flatter me because it's my birthday –"

"No." He shook his head. "I mean every word."

Cora lifted her eyes and saw the sincerity in his face. Standing, she walked around the blanket and sat carefully in his lap. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him, then rested her forehead upon his. "I think this is my favorite birthday, Robert."

He allowed himself to chuckle a little as his arms stole around her waist. "And, just think, you still have gifts to open."

Leaning down, Cora whispered in his ear, "Having you in my life will always be the best gift I could ever have."

Robert moved one of his arms so he could cup her face in his hand. Holding her eyes with his own, he said, "I feel the same about you, Cora." Giving her a soft kiss, he smiled. "It's getting dark. I think we could finish eating by candlelight, if you'd like that, darling."

Cora nodded. "I would." She let him help her up and back to her place. She watched as he went around their shelter, becoming more adept at using the lighter as he lit the candles. Then he took his place across from her once more, refilling their wine glasses.

They finished eating in near silence, their conversation carried on with glances, smiles, eyebrow raises, and blushes. Robert cleared the dishes away, placing them back in their hamper, leaving only the wine and glasses out. "I think it might be time to open your gifts now, sweetheart." He grinned and nodded toward them.

Draining her glass, she held it out to her husband, smiling. "Alright then." Taking a sip of the fresh glass of wine, she placed it in front of her and plucked the first gift off the top of the stack. Unwrapping it, she began to laugh. "Robert, you're too ridiculous sometimes!"

"Well, I don't know what's ridiculous about it, my dear. Bates looks at me so curiously now because I have to keep asking him to get new blades for my razor twice as often as I used to!" He laughed as well. "This way, you don't have to use mine."

Cora chuckled and examined the safety razor and extra blades in the package, flicking her eyes up to him. "So really it's a selfish gift."

Robert shook his head. "I'll not deny it. And, really, it's doubly selfish." He smirked and reached across the blanket to brush his fingers over her bare ankle, as she'd eschewed shoes and stockings for the evening.

Swatting at his hand playfully, Cora giggled and said, "Stop that, Robert. I have more gifts to open." She put the safety razor aside and began unwrapping the next gift. "Perhaps you can start there later…." She waggled her eyebrows at him, then gasped when she parted the tissue paper enclosing the present.

"I hope you like it, Cora. I will admit I had a bit of help with this one." He watched her lift the delicate, cornflower blue garment out of the box. "I told Rosamund what I wanted for you, and she found it."

"Robert, it's gorgeous," she breathed, stroking a finger over the intricate embroidery at the bodice and hem of the night dress.

"A gorgeous woman deserves gorgeous things," he replied with a smile.

Cora met his smile with one of her own before folding the night dress neatly back into the box. "I'll wager it feels nice, too, knowing your sister's taste for fabrics." She winked at him and lifted up the last gift, which was rather thin.

Robert's lips twitched, his eyes already dancing with anticipation. He leaned forward as she slipped the ribbon off the box and lifted the lid.

Her hand flew to her mouth, her eyes widening. She lifted out a leather ticket holder stamped with the words "Venice Simplon-Orient-Express." Flipping up the front of the holder with her thumb, she beheld the ticket itself. "Robert," she whispered. "Does this mean…?"

He beamed at her, pleased with her reaction. "I'm taking you to Venice, my love. We can go whenever you think is best; they're open tickets."

Cora raised her eyes to his, lowering her hand and shaking her head. "I – I don't know what to say. I've always wanted to go to Venice, and I've always wanted to travel on the Orient Express." She still looked as if she disbelieved the words on the ticket and clutched the leather holder in both hands now.

"I know, darling. That's why I wanted to take you. You deserve a holiday, and I think we should have some time together, just the two of us." He laughed a little. "And not in a barn."

"Oh, the barn isn't so bad is it?" Cora glanced around them at the candles and ribbons and their nest upon the hay. "I think we've made it cozy." She stood up and went around to him once more. Holding the tickets in one hand, she reached her other out to him. He took it and rose, placing his hands on her arms and smiling down at her. "But this –" she waved the ticket holder slightly – "is something altogether different and lovely and thoughtful, and – oh, Robert – I can't believe you did this." Tears sparkled on her lashes in the candlelight. "It's going to be a most magnificent trip, and I love you so much, darling. Thank you." She lifted her arms and encircled his neck, leaning up to kiss him tenderly.

Robert caressed her face, his thumb under her chin and his fingers over her cheek, and deepened the kiss. "Cora," he murmured as she moved from his lips to his jaw with her kisses.

She pulled away from him a moment later, looking him in the eye with a smirk. "Well, that's certainly interesting."

"What, sweetheart?" He traced his thumb over her throat gently.

"The whiskers. I can't decide whether I like it, or if it's a little too rough." Loving the deep rumble of his chuckle, Cora brushed her fingers over his cheek.

"We're not done experimenting yet, are we?" Closing his eyes, he leaned his head into her hand a little more.

"I hope not," she said softly. "But, to be honest, Robert, it's a bit warm in here. Do you think we could open the door again?"

"If it's not too breezy. I don't want the candles to go out… or set the place on fire." His rich chuckle filled her ears again.

Pressing a light kiss to his lips, she said, "I'll go see." Carefully placing the tickets with her other gifts, Cora went to the door and opened it. "Oh, Robert! Come look!"

"What is it, darling?" Robert crossed over to her and stood behind her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "It's a beautiful night, isn't it?"

Cora nodded, staring out into the cool night. The clouds had all but disappeared, and a nearly full moon illuminated the grass. The darkness of the sky was scattered with bright points of light. "Robert, might we go for a moonlight stroll? We can always relight the candles later." She turned her head to him with an expression of entreaty.

"Oh, my love, of course we may. Wait here just a moment." He left her with a kiss on the forehead so he could blow out all the candles, leaving the one lantern burning for them. Then he took her by the hand and led her out of the barn, closing the door behind them.

Entwining her fingers with his, Cora set their pace, and they meandered away from the barn – but not too far, uncertain whether the clouds would blow in again for another storm. They chatted happily, laughing and pointing out the stars of which they knew the names. Between them they could come up with quite a few. After a while, Cora became enamored with the glint of the moonlight upon his silvery hair and couldn't resist stopping to reach up and run her fingers through it.

Then, she leaned up – on her still bare feet – and whispered to him, "What do you say we continue our experiment?"

"Here?" he inquired, half elated and half unsure.

Cora wrapped her arms around his waist, her countenance all alight in the moonlight. "Yes, my sweet darling. Right here." She tilted her face up to his expectantly.

Resisting her would have been impossible. Robert bent his head to kiss her, capturing her lips between his own, suddenly remembering their first kiss – how sweet and timid Cora had been, and how much he'd wanted to continue to kiss her all night in that shadowy garden alcove, the fragrance of roses hanging in the air. And the perfume of Cora's skin filling his senses – just as she filled him now, her scent mingling with that of grass and the fresh after-rain smell. His kiss became more intense, his hands tangling into her hair and his tongue dipping into her mouth as she pressed him eagerly to herself. He could feel the intoxication that came with imbibing in her kisses, her embraces, the sound of her delight. Soon, all he wanted to do was lay her down in the grass and worship her – her beauty, her sweetness, her body – with his entire being. He grew warm and breathless with need, with desire.

"My love," he whispered to her, trailing his lips and tongue along the delicate curve of her throat and collar bone, "I could carry you back to the barn right now, if you wanted."

"No," Cora whispered back. "No, Robert." Then she drew closer to his ear and said the words he longed to hear. "I think we have a beautiful place right here. Might we simply let the moonlight and starshine embrace our skin? Like the song you sang to me earlier?"

As she nibbled upon his earlobe, Robert groaned. "Yes, sweetheart, whatever you would like." Then he murmured in a throaty voice, "But first, stand right there." At this, he knelt before her. Starting at her ankles, he let his hands glide up her calves, and, when he reached her hem, drew her skirt up while caressing her legs. Soon, he had the skirt of her dress up around her hips, and he leaned forward, holding her dress in place, and pressed an open-mouthed kiss between her thighs through her undergarments.

Cora's eyes, having been closed at the beginning of this process, flew open as she felt his warm breath upon her through the fabric. "Oh my," she breathed, resting her hands upon the top of his head as he began teasing her, his hands sliding around to cup her buttocks while keeping the skirt up at the same time. Soon she could feel his tongue as well, and she feared her knees would buckle. "Robert," she whispered. She couldn't recall his ever doing this _through_ her undergarments before, and it was certainly an interesting and dizzying sensation.

Robert reveled in the sounds he elicited from her, her whispered words, and the feel of her hands upon his head. He held her up, as he could feel her trembling, and he also knew that she was close to the edge. He longed to bring her there. First, though, he paused and looked up at her. "I thought the bristles might be too rough, but shall we see?"

She nodded vehemently, and, even by moonlight, he could see that her eyes had grown dark. "Yes," she panted, licking her lips. "In the spirit of experimentation…."

Holding her skirt up with one hand, Robert grasped the waistband of her undergarments with the other, sliding them down over her behind and then her thighs. Then he resumed what he'd been doing. He gathered that she didn't mind the whiskers – or perhaps they added a certain something; he wasn't sure. As she began to squirm, he added his fingers, delighting at her yelp and small jump when they entered her. It wasn't long before she was shuddering and her hands moved down to his shoulders to support herself.

After she'd contracted around his fingers one last time, he let her skirt fall and, feeling her continue to shake, pulled her down gently to join him on the grass. Laying her back, he worked on removing his own clothes, having become quite overheated from his exertions. He kissed her as he tossed his jacket, tie, waistcoat aside in a neat pile.

Cora chuckled. "I wonder what Bates will think when he sees those grass stains on the knees of your dinner trousers."

"You know I don't bloody care, Cora." Kissing her again, he slipped his braces off his shoulders. "It was worth it, whatever he thinks." He smiled down into her face, unbuttoning his shirt and tossing it on the heap of clothes next to them. "What did you think? Too rough?"

Her eyes shone bright in the moonlight as she gazed at him. "No. Just right." She reached up to fondle him through his trousers, sighing happily at his groan before undoing them and watching him stand to discard them, along with his shoes, socks, and undergarments. Cora sat up just enough to pull her dress over her head and throw it aside, then beckoned to him.

Robert lay beside her, cupping her face in one hand, the other playing with her hair. "God, Cora, you're so beautiful. You must have water from the Fountain of Youth hidden away somewhere."

Cora's laughter enchanted him even further. "Don't be silly," she said in amusement. "I think it's our constant activities that keep me young." A peal of her laughter rang out again.

"Hmmm, then we may have turned the clock back quite a bit today, my love." He chuckled.

She drew closer to him, placing her hand upon his chest. "Then might we turn it back a little more? As lovely as what you just did was, it merely whetted my appetite…."

The gleam in her eye was too much for Robert, and he lay her back completely, covering her mouth with his and running his hands over her skin that practically glowed in the moonlight. "Cora," he breathed, "Cora…."

When he finally nudged her knees apart, she opened her legs impatiently, as if she'd been waiting far too long for him already. Settling himself there, he gazed down at her, brushing her loose tresses back from her face. She lifted her hips, brushing herself against him, causing his eyes to close so he could pull himself together before opening his eyes again and guiding himself into her. At the same time, he bent his head down to close his lips around one of her nipples, flicking his tongue against it and making her gasp and writhe. "Robert, please," she cried, begging him to move.

Robert complied, splitting the attentions of his mouth between her breasts, then returning to her mouth to kiss her. She arched her hips up to meet each stroke, needing more of him, her hands gripping his arms. Soon his ministrations had her crying out with sharp gasps and sliding her fingers down to squeeze his behind.

At this, Robert found it difficult to hold on to his sanity, much less anything else, and he climaxed nearly simultaneously with his wife, rocking against her and breathing heavily into her hair. Gathering her up in his arms, he rolled them over and held her tightly, collecting himself.

"Robert?" Cora whispered against his chest, where her head rested.

"Yes, my heart?" His breathing had not returned to normal quite yet.

"Can we lie here a while?"

Robert leaned up to kiss the top of her head. "As long as you're comfortable, we'll lie here as long as you like."

"I'm very comfortable," she assured him. "Comfortable and feeling very, very loved."

Stroking one hand over her hair, he replied, "Cora, sweetheart, you _are _very, very loved. Loved and cherished and adored."

"Then I'm happy." She smiled, and he could feel it upon his skin. "And I love you too."

Cora brushed her fingers through the curls covering his chest and listened to Robert hum "Beautiful Dreamer" while they lay together upon the grass, their glistening skin bathed in moonlight. She closed her eyes, knowing that even if all they did the rest of the night was walk back to the barn and fall asleep snuggled in one another's arms upon their nest of blankets, this would be the best birthday of any she could remember – because she'd spent it with the man she loved.

* * *

"Come away with me in the night  
Come away with me  
And I will write you a song"


	5. Come away with me in the night

The nip of the chill night air finally drove them to dress once more and ramble hand in hand back to their shelter. Neither could stop smiling, and when they arrived at the barn, Robert pressed a kiss to Cora's cheek and had her wait in the doorway while he relit the candles. Folding the blanket neatly and refilling their wine glasses before putting the bottle to the side, he handed her a glass and closed the door before he stood next to her and twisted a lock of her hair around his fingers.

"Cora," he murmured close to her ear. "Would you be so kind as to try on your new night dress? I want to make sure it fits, you see." Robert grinned at her.

Taking a long sip of wine, Cora smirked. "I'm not so sure that's the reason."

"Oh, but, darling, it is." He nodded seriously, wiping the grin off his face.

"Well, I'll try it on, as you say, if you do something for me."

Robert nuzzled against her hair. "I'll do anything for you, Cora."

Slipping her free arm around his neck, she whispered, "Might you let me see you in your shirtsleeves again? Like you were earlier today? I liked that very much." She closed her eyes as his fingers threaded into her hair while he inhaled its fragrance.

"Your wish is ever my command, my love." Pulling away, he smiled at her and set his wine glass down on the corner of one of the horse stalls, then began to unbutton his jacket and step out of his shoes.

Cora went to the stack of gifts and ran a finger over the embossed leather ticket cover before lifting the lid of the box containing the night dress and plucking it out. Taking this over to their makeshift bed, Cora kept her back to him as she shrugged out of her dress and into the silky blue garment. She turned and approached Robert, who looked down at his waistcoat buttons.

When she stood in front of him, he raised his head, tugging the waistcoat down his shoulders. He gasped, his movements frozen as he gazed at her in the cornflower blue night dress that made her eyes appear even more luminous and their color even more striking than usual. Realizing that she'd captured his attention, she slowly twirled around.

"So? Does it fit?"

Robert blinked a few times, swallowing and shaking himself, a silly grin on his face. "It most certainly does fit." Allowing the waistcoat to drop to the floor, he unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt and rolled up his sleeves almost to his elbow. Then, unable to stop himself, he crossed the short distance still between them and thrust his hands into her hair, crushing his mouth to hers.

Cora inhaled sharply, taken aback by the suddenness of his movements. But, settling into the kiss, she ran her fingers lightly over his shirtfront, sighing happily.

Soon his lips traveled from her mouth, across her cheek, and began nibbling on her earlobe. "Cora?" he breathed.

"Yes, darling?" She tilted her head to the side as his kisses trailed beneath her ear and over her the delicate jut of her jaw.

"Dance with me," he whispered.

Cora chuckled softly. "Robert, we don't have any music."

He pulled away enough to smile down at her, caressing her face lovingly. "So I'll hum. Or sing. Or you will. I just want to dance with you a while, my sweetheart – to hold you close to me and look into your eyes by candlelight."

Smiling back, close to tears at the tenderness in his voice, she replied, "Robert, we don't need to dance for you to do that."

"I know, Cora. But – you love to dance. And it's your birthday, and I wanted us to do things you love. I simply happen to love holding you close and watching your eyes light up when we dance, too."

Blushing deeply, Cora plucked distractedly at the buttons on his shirt. "We've done so many things I love today. And one important thing – several times."

Robert grinned, recognizing the expression on her face. He brushed her hair back from her shoulders and chuckled. "I do believe my lady wife just thought something quite naughty."

Raising her eyes to his face, her lips contorted into smirk. "I think perhaps this day has been one where your 'lady wife' has had a perpetual stream of naughty thoughts."

"Well, you won't hear me complain." He grinned, but then his face grew serious, and he cupped her cheek once again. "However, I still want to dance in the candlelight with my beautiful sweetheart. One of the first things we ever did together. When I claimed all your waltzes."

Cora's smirk transformed into a warm smile. "How could I forget? You were so charmingly uncomfortable in front of me." She leaned up to whisper in his ear, "Yes, darling. Dance with me."

The way his eyes – his whole face – brightened as he moved his arm to encircle her waist told her that this was one thing he'd planned for her birthday that he would have been greatly saddened to give up completely.

As he clasped her hand in his, she asked, "When did you become such a romantic, Robert?"

"Am I?" He looked at her bemusedly.

Cora moved her hand from his shoulder and gestured around the barn. "What would you call all this?" She smiled. "And this?" She indicated their stance, ready to dance to hummed tunes.

He shrugged slightly. "I don't know. I suppose you bring it out in me. My greatest wish, always, is to make you happy, Cora. And especially today."

"Robert, I _am_ happy." She brushed her hand over the stubble on his cheek, then placed it back on his shoulder. "Now dance with me?"

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, Robert began humming and guiding her around the wooden barn floor. It made Cora giggle at first, but when he drew her closer and sang whispered words into her ear, she closed her eyes and lost herself completely in the moment, in his embrace. Both lost track of time, and couldn't have told how long they danced together, sometimes while his cheek rested upon her temple, sometimes gazing at one another.

Eventually, Robert's arms wrapped around her waist, his hands coming to rest most naturally upon the small of her back, and Cora slid her arms down, emulating him. She lay her head upon his chest as they swayed, not really dancing anymore, simply holding one another close instead. Robert bent his head down, his cheek on her hair. Cora could tell he was getting tired. As she thought over their day, she smiled. It was unsurprising that he would be tired. And he hadn't taken a nap like she had.

"Robert," she murmured, bringing one hand up to his chest and running her fingers gently along it.

"Hmmm?" he replied sleepily.

"I think it's about time we got ready for bed." She brought their swaying motion to a halt and started unbuttoning the rest of his shirt buttons with one hand.

She felt Robert nod a bit against her head. "Yes, darling."

Cora chuckled softly. "You're going to have to help me a little here."

Robert lifted his head up and looked down at her with a weary smile, shrugging out of his braces. He touched the wide strap of her night dress. "You were right. It does feel nice."

Shaking her head and grinning, Cora prompted him to step out of the trousers that she'd unfastened.

"You're not going to suggest I wear my night clothes are you?" He slid his shirt off and let it fall to the floor to join his trousers.

Cora shook her head again. "No, darling." She observed how his eyes drooped. "Come lie down, though. I'll put out the candles while you get comfortable." Taking him by the hand, she led him to their nest of blankets, patting his behind through his undergarments once they got there. It was a testament to his fatigue that he merely grinned at her and sat down, reclining back upon his elbows to watch her move about the barn, carefully blowing out the candles.

When only the soft glow of the lantern remained, Cora crept up next to him. "Kiss me goodnight, my love."

Weaving his fingers through her hair, Robert gazed at her. "Goodnight, sweetheart. Happy birthday." He kissed her tenderly. Then she turned in his arms, and he gathered her up against him, nestling his head into the back of her shoulder.

Cora put her arms over his as he gently stroked a thumb across her side through the blue fabric. Very little time passed before his thumb stilled and his breathing became deep and even, ruffling her hair lightly. Cora smiled to herself, allowing her body to relax utterly within the circle of his embrace and thinking what a perfect day it had been, despite their being stranded – or perhaps because they had been. With a sigh of deepest contentment, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Tom, do you think they're alright?" Edith fidgeted upon the front passenger's seat, keeping an eye out for any sign of her parents.

"I'm sure they're fine," Tom replied, with more confidence than he felt. He had been so certain that Robert had a handle on driving, and his sister-in-law had confirmed it. But what if something had happened to them?

They, along with Mary and Matthew, had decided the time had arrived to send out a search party. Having telephoned Aunt Rosamund's cottage for a second time that day, right before luncheon, and having gotten no response any of the times they had rung the day before, they'd grown worried. Robert had said they would telephone when they arrived. Now, forgetting to do so that first night was understandable. Missing them at some point over the next day might certainly happen. But for none of their telephone calls to be answered? Something had gone wrong.

"Perhaps they simply ran out of petrol. Aunt Rosamund's cottage is on the outside of nowhere; it would be difficult to find somewhere to refill it." Edith's voice had risen in pitch. But she and Tom knew the motor car had not run out of petrol; both of them had checked to be sure it was full before Robert and Cora left.

However, Tom, in an effort to reassure her, glanced at her and said, "Yes, that's a possibility."

They drove on for a while in silence, not wanting to speculate about what might have happened. After they'd been on the road for a couple of hours, Edith gave a bounce and pointed. "Tom! Isn't that our motor car? There, on the right?"

Peering at the vehicle through the windshield, he nodded. "I believe you're right, Edith." He pulled in neatly behind the other motor car and set the break.

Edith scrambled out the passenger's side door and rushed to look in the windows. "They aren't inside." She scanned the countryside around them, shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight. "I don't see them anywhere, Tom. Where could they have gone? What if something happened?" A note of alarm arose in her voice.

Tom had circled the motor car and now knelt in front of the front left tire. "Well, I know why they had to stop." He looked up at Edith and pointed at the tire. "It's flat."

"But, Tom, isn't there a spare right there?" She waved a hand to where it was mounted on the car.

Tilting his head, Tom gave her a questioning glance. "Edith, did _you_ teach your father how to change a tire?"

Comprehension registered upon Edith's face. "No, of course not. I didn't think he'd have to know."

"Nor did I." He muttered under his breath, then stood and gazed around, as she had done.

"Tom, were they close enough to the cottage to walk there?" Edith grasped at anything she could.

He shook his head. "No. It's at least another hour's drive from here. And if they'd gotten there, we'd have been able to reach them," he pointed out. "Besides, don't you remember those terrible storms that we had yesterday and the day before? If they went through here as well, your parents wouldn't have walked in that. They would have wanted to take shelter."

"Oh, Tom. Where could they be?" She appeared close to tears and put her crossed arms on a window of the stranded motor car, burying her head against them.

"Edith, please, stay calm." Turning again to see what might be around, he did a double take as a sheep walked up to them. "Er – we have a visitor, I see."

The sheep cocked her head at Tom, stopping a couple of feet away.

"What?" Edith asked, lifting her head and skipping back a step in fright. "Tom, why isn't it in its fence?" she whispered loudly.

Chuckling, Tom carefully approached the animal and patted its head. She seemed to like this, as she closed her eyes. "How should I know, Edith? Anyway, she won't hurt you."

Edith eyed the sheep askance, but didn't move back any farther. "Well, alright, but if it comes near me, I'm getting back into the motor."

Tom rolled his eyes. Then, still petting the sheep, he glanced over their surroundings. Spotting the barn, he lifted his other hand to point at it. "I think our best bet is that barn. They might have taken shelter there; it's much less cramped than the motor car. It rained off and on all morning at Downton, and judging by the grass, it probably did here as well. That's probably where they are." He fixed an encouraging look upon Edith, smiling a little.

She smiled in return. "No, I can't see them staying cooped up in the motor car. Nor can I see them going off into the woods." She indicated the stand of trees that was a little distance behind her.

"Look, how about you stay here, in case they simply went for a walk now that the weather is clear, and they come back. I'll go investigate the barn." Tom gave the sheep a final pat and watched as it ambled back in the direction from whence it came. He shrugged and turned his face again to his sister-in-law.

Edith nodded. She slid into the passenger's seat once more, her eyes following him as he made his way toward the structure through the knee-high grass. Then she sat back on the seat and waited.

* * *

Robert and Cora slept very late that morning. The feel of Cora stretching against him woke Robert finally, and he smiled, running a hand along the blue silk clinging to her side and pressing soft kisses to the nape of her neck. "Good morning, darling," he murmured against her skin.

Rolling over so she could see him, she grinned. "Yes, it is a good morning already." She slid an arm around his neck and drew him closer, placing a light kiss to his lips.

"So," he said, nuzzling his bristly cheek against her temple and holding her comfortably against him, "do you think we'll be rescued today?" He chuckled.

"Do we still have food? Wine?" Cora inquired.

"Yes," he replied, moving a hand up to stroke her hair.

Cora pulled back to look at him. "Then I'm not sure I'm all that concerned with being rescued today."

Robert threw his head back in a deep, exultant laugh. "You do realize that we may not be able to have the same sort of day today that we did yesterday?" Despite this, he leaned forward and began nibbling her earlobe.

"Mmmm…. Might we at least begin it that way?" Her fingers glided over his bare chest, prompting a low groan from him when her thumbs lingered upon his nipples.

He whispered in her ear, "We also have some unfinished business from yesterday." Robert's lips and tongue caressed the sensitive area below her ear and down along her throat.

"What's that, darling?" she breathed.

But Robert had already given himself up to the important business at hand: making his wife sigh and purr and writhe against him. Cora had the delicate night dress pulled over her head and discarded within minutes as he concentrated his efforts upon her breasts, kneading the soft skin and teasing the stiff peaks first with fingers, then tongue.

Cora tilted her head back and, in a breathy voice, attempted to get his attention. "Robert," she whimpered. When he didn't answer, she twined her fingers into his hair and, both gently and insistently, lifted his head until his eyes met hers. "Do you remember that new thing I taught you last week?"

Robert grinned from ear to ear. "From your books?"

Her eyes glinting a darker blue with desire, she nodded. She placed her mouth to his ear. "Can we do that again?" she murmured coyly.

"My God, yes," he said, his voice husky.

Cora's eyes trailed down to the front of his undershorts, and she smirked. Even her suggestion caused his arousal to harden further. She snaked one of her hands down to fondle him through the fabric, and he closed his eyes, breathing heavily at her attentions. Soon, he had to pull away from her to get rid of the offending bit of clothing, and she sat up to do likewise with her own undergarment.

Sitting down again, Robert turned toward her and cupped her face, kissing her intensely. His other hand strayed down to her inner thigh, grazing over it and then between her thighs, making her gasp. Stroking her with more intention, he groaned as she wrapped her own fingers around him, the flat of her palm moving over the underside with just enough pressure to keep him moaning into her mouth as they kissed.

"Cora," he murmured, beginning to squirm now, "might we…?"

Nodding at him – all she was capable of doing while his fingers still spiraled inside her – Cora shifted herself, bending one of her legs a little to create a space. Robert withdrew his fingers from her and swung his legs carefully up into their nest of blankets, sliding one of his thighs under the space she'd made for it, resting his other leg lightly atop her other one. Thus entwined, sitting up with their legs scissored together, they worked to bring themselves closer to one another, maneuvering until they joined completely. Chests pressed snugly against each other, for a moment or two they simply clung to one another, kissing, Cora deliberately contracting around him, teasing him.

Feeling his heart thudding against her own, Cora broke off the kiss and gazed at him, caressing his scruffy cheek. Holding her eyes with his, Robert placed his hands on her hips, then waited until her hands had followed suit upon his. Being one of their more complicated undertakings, the position Cora had introduced required a great deal of finesse – and teamwork. Fortunately, the couple had had years of practice. And, as they knew from their previous experience, this particular undertaking reaped abundant rewards.

Furthermore, Robert enjoyed the slow burn that came with locking eyes with his wife and moving with her in an intricate sensual dance. And that's what this had them do. After a hesitant start – recalling what had worked best the last time – they established a steady, deliberate, mutually satisfying rhythm, one which had Cora shuddering in no time at all. Robert pressed his forehead against hers, still gazing into her eyes as she trilled and gasped, grinding herself against him at their joining to increase her pleasure.

Soon, Cora initiated their motions once more, and it wasn't long until they'd reached their silently agreed upon cadence. Robert slid his hands down beneath her buttocks, lifting her slightly, which allowed them even more shared delight. Cora bit down upon her lip, faint grunts escaping her throat as she closed her eyes tightly now, with both effort and ecstasy. Seeing her like this simply made Robert's eyes glaze over even more, and he shut his own eyes as he endeavored to increase their tempo.

His success at this drove her wild, and she contracted around him so strongly that he couldn't hold on any longer. With lusty cry of bliss, he pressed her powerfully to himself, rocking the pair of them slightly to and fro as he wrapped his legs around her, securing her against him. Panting, he slipped his arms around her back and pulled her into a tight embrace. Cora emulated him, resting her head down upon his shoulder as he did the same, her fingers tracing tenderly over the now relaxed muscles of his back, her legs crossed behind him.

Once they'd sank back to earth together, Robert lifted his head and brought a hand around to put under Cora's chin, tilting her face up to his. "Magnificent," was all he could think to say before he covered her mouth with his and kissed her both tenderly and deeply.

"Mmmmm," she hummed. When he'd ended the kiss, she said, "I agree. However," she began with a slight grimace, "this way of sitting is becoming uncomfortable, darling." She leaned forward to nip at his earlobe. "And I'm hungry."

Chuckling, Robert replied, "Then we should get up and have some… breakfast? Luncheon? I honestly don't know what time of day it is anymore."

"Does it matter?" she asked with a smirk, disentangling her limbs from his.

"I suppose not," he said, grinning and giving her a gentle kiss before standing and passing her undergarment and night dress to her. Assuming his own undershorts, he walked over and began rummaging around in their hampers for food.

Cora went over to him and put a hand on his back. "So, are we dining this informally, or shall we dress?"

Moving to spread the blanket for them once more, he shook his head. "We still have that unfinished business, sweetheart." He winked at her and sat, indicating that she should do the same, and drawing one of the hampers to them.

"Well, I can't quite think what you mean, darling, but I won't object to the view in the meantime." She winked back, taking the bread and cheese he offered her.

The two ate silently, much as they had the evening before, exchanging loving glances and mischievous grins. And once they'd eaten their fill, Robert put down his empty glass and had Cora stand so he could clear everything away. Then he approached her and wrapped his arms around her, snaking his hands down to fondle her bottom.

"Now," he said, "we might get to that little something that didn't happen yesterday."

Cora laughed, enjoying the Cheshire cat grin that wreathed his lips. "I can't imagine what you mean."

Bending his head close to hers, Robert whispered in her ear, "Your birthday spankings, my darling." He punctuated the statement with a smart smack to her rear.

Letting out a little yelp, Cora giggled and hopped backward out of his embrace, to his surprise. "You'll have to catch me first." She turned slightly, poised to run.

As Robert started forward, she shrieked and darted here and there, her husband following in her wake. Each time he would catch her up, he'd encircle her waist with one arm and swat her behind a time or two before she wriggled free again, squawking and giggling happily.

Finally, she stood facing him from a little distance, her face flushed and her chest heaving. She grinned at him, ready to scurry away if necessary. "So, have you given me all my spankings yet?"

Robert smirked and shrugged dramatically. "I don't know. I lost count. It's such a large number, you know."

"Why, Robert Crawley! Are you saying I'm old?" She attempted to glare at him, her hands upon her hips, but she recognized that he was only teasing, and their game had her utterly amused. "I think I ought to spank _you_ now, you naughty man!" She lunged forward to put her words into action.

Bounding away from her with a chuckle, Robert found himself thrilled over how their game of cat and mouse had reversed and relished her laughter and shrieks of delight. Nearly tripping over one of the hampers, he slowed down enough for Cora to catch him and slap him on the rear through his undershorts. Feeling overheated and a bit breathless – from their activities, but also from seeing her pink cheeks and her breasts straining against the delicate blue material of her night dress – he captured her lips with his and skimmed his hands over her sides and down to her hips, keeping her firmly in place where she would have continued their game. Because, suddenly, he wasn't in the mood for games anymore.

Cora felt a renewed craving in his actions and responded in kind, throwing her arms around his neck and standing up on her toes, which enabled her to deepen the kiss. When he slid his hands down to lift her up, she wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing her whole body into his. Guttural noises and loud sighs escaped them both as Robert stood there, kneading his wife's bottom, Cora's hands threading through his hair, kissing one another breathless.

And then – the door opened.

Neither noticed, intent as they were upon what they were doing, until they heard a sharp intake of breath. Breaking the kiss, they turned their heads toward the noise, both freezing in place and going bright red at having someone find them so scantily clad and in the middle of such intimate activity.

Especially since that someone was their son-in-law, who stood there, wide-eyed, his hand upon the door latch, having gone nearly as red as they had. "I – I didn't realize," he gasped out, "that I might need to knock first. If you'll pardon me, I'll be down at the road." Whereupon Tom turned away and closed the door.

For almost a full minute after he'd departed, Robert and Cora stared at one another, speechless, neither sure whether to be embarrassed or not. Finally, Cora's face broke into a grin, and she began to laugh. Robert, figuring if she wasn't mortified at being found by their son-in-law, then he wouldn't be either, was only a beat behind her, laughing with her until they ran out of breath. Her fingers brushed through his hair lazily as they gazed at each other.

"So," he said in a low voice, "shall I put you down now?"

Looking down into his face, she locked her fingers together behind his head. "Not on your life, Robert Crawley." She tilted her head down to kiss him briefly, then said, "Tom will wait."

With that, Robert tightened his hold on her and crushed his mouth to hers once more.

* * *

Edith straightened when she beheld Tom approach the motor. Slipping out, she went to meet him on the other side of the road. "So? Were they there?" She glanced behind him, as if they would magically appear.

"Oh yes, they're there." He chuckled.

"Well, why didn't they come with you?" A panicked expression crossed her countenance. "Are they hurt?"

His chuckle morphed into a laugh. "Not at all. They're simply, well, they'll be a while. Perhaps we should change this tire whilst we wait on them." He pointed to the flat tire.

Edith drew her brows together. "They'll be a while? I don't understand."

Tom shook his head and started toward the motor cars, grinning. He saw no reason to tell Edith what he'd seen or why he surmised they might not want to emerge from their hideaway right away. "They hauled quite a lot of things with them into that barn. They need time to gather them together. Really, we should work on this tire, so we'll be ready when they get here." He began whistling as he hunted around in the boot for the tool kit kept there.

Still baffled, Edith shrugged and went to help him. "But, Tom, they _are_ alright?"

He couldn't stop himself from chuckling again. "Edith, I assure you, they're as right as rain. And probably more so."

"What –" Edith stopped herself, as she'd begun to get a hint of something from Tom's enigmatically mirthful expression. "You know, I think I'll just leave it there."

"Probably best," he said, extricating the tool kit. "Now, let's get that tire changed."

* * *

The tire had been changed and Tom and Edith had opened one of the hampers still in the boot in order to take some refreshment after their arduous task before they heard Robert and Cora's laughter from a little distance away. Lifting a hand to shield her eyes from the afternoon sun, Edith watched them meander toward the road, each laden with multiple items.

Jumping up from where they sat on the grass near the road, Edith waved her arms. "Mama, Papa!" She hastened toward them, Tom soon upon her heels.

"Edith, darling!" her mama exclaimed. Her bright smile reassured her daughter that the two were unharmed.

Reaching them, Edith kissed them each on the cheek. "I'd hug you both, but you seem to be quite weighed down."

"There're a few more things still in the barn, if you and Tom might be so kind as to retrieve them?" Robert grinned at his daughter before glancing at his son-in-law, his grin widening.

"We'll get them, Robert," Tom said, beckoning Edith to go with him.

After fitting the things they'd brought back with them into the boot, Robert glanced about to make sure Tom and Edith weren't within view just yet, then stole a kiss from his wife.

"Robert," she intoned softly, "I had a marvelous time, darling. And I'm so looking forward to planning our trip."

"So am I, my love." Kissing her gently once more, he caressed her face, then pulled away reluctantly, hearing Edith and Tom's approach.

Once they'd gotten everything packed away, Tom addressed his father-in-law. "So, will you be driving the motor on to the cottage?"

Exchanging a look with Cora, Robert cleared his throat. "We were meant to go back home today anyway, and I don't want to leave the estate for too long. Besides, after this experience, I _never_ want to drive again. Tom and Edith, might you take the wheels instead?"

Cora chuckled and slipped her hand in his. As he helped her into the back seat of the motor Tom was meant to drive, she bent her head to whisper softly, "It didn't turn out so badly, my dear."

Robert grinned at her. "No, but it might have. Trust me, darling, I mean to forget I ever learned to drive." He slid into the motor next to her, closing the door behind him before taking her hand again.

As Tom started the engine, Cora murmured to her husband. "That doesn't mean we can't steal away into the garage every so often and take a ride in the backseat, does it?"

Chuckling merrily, Robert twined their fingers together. "It most certainly doesn't. I think I'd enjoy that, in fact." Suppressing the urge to pull her closer, fully cognizant of Tom in the front seat, he surreptitiously waggled his eyebrows at her instead, causing her to laugh.

"Incorrigible," Cora whispered, shaking her head with a smile.

"Yes, and aren't you happy for it?" Robert brought her hand to his lips, kissing it.

She met his eyes with a tender look. "Absolutely, my love. Absolutely."

* * *

"…while I'm safe there in your arms  
So all I ask is for you  
To come away with me in the night  
Come away with me"


End file.
